


The Main Attraction

by ComingandGoingByBubble



Category: The Wicked Years Series - Gregory Maguire, Wicked - All Media Types, Wicked - Schwartz/Holzman
Genre: F/F, F/M, circus AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-05-10 05:59:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 44
Words: 85,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5573439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComingandGoingByBubble/pseuds/ComingandGoingByBubble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When visiting the Ozling Brother's Circus, a blonde woman and a prince come across the main attraction, a mysterious woman with green skin that burns when water comes in contact with it. After stealing the girl away from the circus and hiding her in their home, both Glinda and Fiyero slowly fall in love with the circus woman, causing immense problems and conflicts along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

"And now for our final act," the ring master's brazen voice seemed to echo through the packed tent of people, " and main attraction might I add. Our very own emerald skinned spectacle!"

Claps emerged from the people in the wooden stands all around as they held their breath to see what the ringmaster had possibly meant. The red and yellow striped tent flaps wavered in the breeze as the crowd became quiet.

Fiyero turned to Glinda as they sat in the stands, "You don't think he's serious, do you?" he asked as his dark eyes flickered back to the dirt arena where the rest of the circus people were.

The blonde woman besides him sighed heavily. It was clear by her attitude, tone, and lack of interest in the show that she did not want to be here. She had been perfectly content with finding loose threads to pluck on her violet dotted dress when Fiyero had asked her that comment.

Glinda looked up from her dress, her sapphire eyes not on Fiyero but on the ringmaster who had moved aside to let in this mysterious green skinned girl.

"I don't know. There are certainly a lot of freaks here, so I guess why wouldn't they have a girl with green skin," her remark came out harsh and for once she did not care. Couldn't he see that she did not want to be here? That she only came to the Ozling Brother's Circus as an obligation to her soon to be wifely duties. It was most certainly not by choice. Though she did love Fiyero, the boy could be devastatingly annoying when he wanted to be.

Suddenly all the lights dimmed in the tent and a single spotlight was illuminated in the middle of the arena. The crowd grew un-settingly still and quiet. A girl walked forth with no grace at all, her ugly dirty combat boots trudging along in the dirt towards the light. Her short black dress had no shape or form whatsoever. Long midnight black hair swayed around her shoulders and face.

At first Glinda and Fiyero thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. They squinted and peered at the girl to make sure they were seeing things right. A rippling chain of gasps erupted from the crowd slowly. It was sure enough and plain as day. The girl's skin was green. Her entire body was like a glimmering emerald, with that skin pigment on every inch of her body. Her face, her ears, her hands, her fingers, her long scrawny legs, and even her feet were green.

"Oh my Oz," whispered Glinda who for once during the show was finally paying attention. Her mind forgot about her impending wedding, her dance rehearsal she had tomorrow, and the fact that she had been mad about being forced to come to this freak show.

Her mind was focused on the green girl. As she stole a quick glance at Fiyero's face, she guessed that he was too.

Fiyero looked more than curious about this strange, abnormal girl that stood in the center of the circus. He looked intrigued, bewildered at best. He leaned forward in his seat to get a better view. Wrinkles appeared on his brown suit as he moved, crinkling the expensive fabric that it was made of.

"How in Oz do you get skin like that?" he asked softly to Glinda. But she never answered him for she had no answer to give.

At that moment, the ringmaster stepped forward into the light with a strange item in his hands. He set the bucket of water he was holding down on the ground and faced the crowd.

"This is our emerald skinned attraction," he said with a bright smile towards the people who were watching. He motioned with his hands towards Elphaba, "But there is more to her than her unnatural skin color…" he paused. Glinda suddenly found herself immersed in this spectacle, wanting to know more.

"This precious skin burns when a single droplet of water touches it," said the man who controlled the circus.

Glinda had turned speechless at what the man had to say while she felt Fiyero tense up in anger besides her.

"He wouldn't," uttered her fiancé darkly as his eyes were glued to the spotlight. He was starting to seriously regret why he had taken Glinda here. He had thought it had been something fun to go to, seeing that his friend Avaric had gone there many times. But Fiyero never would have imagined how cruel this circus was.

The ringmaster reached with his hand into the bucket filled with swishing crystal clear water and lifted his hand out of the water. With the other hand he grabbed the green girl's forearm tightly and held it out straight so everyone could see.

Then he held his glimmering wet hand over her forearm and let the droplets fall onto her skin. With each drop Glinda and Fiyero heard a sick sizzling sound. Glinda covered her mouth with one of her hands unable to even comprehend that the girl's skin was actually burning.

The ringmaster dripped more water onto her skin as seconds passed by. Everyone in the crowd was stunned that she did not scream out in pain, though the silent grimaces and her lips pursing together tightly only gave it away that it was exceedingly painful for the girl.

"This is wrong," said Fiyero in a normal leveled voice. Heads turned in his direction as his words echoed in the otherwise silent circus. The performers and audience members were all staring at him in dislike for his outburst. It was apparent to Fiyero that these circus people didn't care what happened to this green girl, all they wanted was the money. He included the audience at fault as well for just watching and not one person speaking up about how wrong and cruel this was.

Glinda noticed his anger and slid her hand into his, trying to calm him down. Her blonde curls brushed the side of his face as she leaned towards his ear and whispered a threat.

"Yes, we all know this, but please Fifi for the love Ozma be quiet! People are starting to stare," her words were laced with the hint of annoyance. She felt as though their eyes were directed more at them as a couple couple than at each of them individually.

"Let them," were his words as he aggressively pulled his hand out of her grasp, disgusted with her. His eyes were all on the burning skin girl. He shot a glare to the ringmaster who had paused to watch the distraction among the crowd of Ozians.

"And that concludes our show tonight, folks," said the ringmaster slowly, his gaze on Fiyero.

The master of the circus shoved the green girl out of the spotlight without so much as letting the audience clap for her. The rest of the performers took a bow in an orderly fashion. The clowns, contortionists, acrobats, elephant and lion tamers all waited in a line for the applause. Claps had started to form all around them but neither Glinda nor Fiyero joined in the applause.

They remained in their seats while the others filed out as soon as the performers were gone, the tent now filled with noise. As the number of people dwindled down, Glinda turned to Fiyero.

"May we go home now?" she asked softly but a side of irritation was in her voice. She had started plucking threads again from her dress and thinking about what moves she had to perfect for her dance rehearsals tomorrow. In her mind she was already seeing herself dancing in the studio, far away from this monstrosity of an entertainment venue.

"No," said Fiyero sharply as he stood up. She looked up at him with her blue eyes. In them Fiyero could see an underlying reason for her irritability, for her annoyance. He knew that she just wanted to go home. But he couldn't let this go. It was just so wrong.

"And why ever not, Fiyero? You brought me here because Avaric said it would be fun, but now we've come to find out that this is not fun. Why can't we just go home and forget this happened and pretend we never saw such things?" pressed Glinda even though she knew what she had just said was quite cruel and arrogant.

Fiyero looked at her, with his eyes searing into hers.  
"Because I'm not as heartless as you are, Glin," were his parting words as he stormed off to go find the ringmaster.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Being the last person still sitting in the stands, Glinda got up and followed Fiyero out of the tent. The faint smell of popcorn greeted her nose as soon as she stepped out of the tent. Her eyes for a while were trained on her fiancé's back as he moved but after a while she began to notice her surroundings. A glimpse of color here, a flash of light over there. Those blue eyes saw numerous red and white striped tents all around her, performers walking around in greasy makeup and sweaty costumes, and animals like elephants and horses being whipped by their owners. It was a gruesome and terrifying sight to behold.

The blonde shuddered, having always hated these 'performance type entertainments'. She supposed it had started that long time ago when her parents had taken her as a little girl to the circus and one of the acrobats had fallen and died right there from a broken neck.

Coming back to reality, Glinda realized that she had, for a moment, lost track of Fiyero. Her eyes quickly scanned through the bustling crowd of performers while her ears listened for the sound of Fiyero's voice. When she didn't hear any voices that she recognized, she paused in her walking.

"Great," she groaned as her hands went to her slender hips, "Just great," she muttered. Her eyes scanned the crowd once more and then fell on one of the traveling cages. Curious, she peered at the dark inside and took a slight step forward in her black heels. As soon as she did, a huge golden animal pounded at her, only to be stopped by the bars on the cage. With its teeth bared and his claws scraping against the metal bars Glinda realized that this was a cat or Cat of some sorts. Having jumped back quite a few feet, Glinda's heart was racing in her chest. She was startled to say the least.

"Down Brr, down!" yelled a voice from behind the blonde woman. Glinda turned in time to see the ringmaster walking forward towards the cat yelling with Fiyero following.

"Where have you been?" scolded Glinda in a whisper as she reached out a hand and touched her fiancé's arm.

"I went to go bargain her release," said Fiyero his eyes on the ringmaster as he waved his arms in command at the lion.

"Who's-" Glinda started before the puzzle pieces in her mind put themselves together, "You're trying to set her free?" she exclaimed at Fiyero. Her brow furrowed delicately and her features became cross. The blue color in her eyes had turned to ice.

Before he could say anything in his defense, the ringmaster turned back towards him.

"Now what were you saying there, Prince Tiggular?" asked the circus owner.

He walked over to them, and that's when Glinda noticed how abnormally short he was. His top hat seemed too big for him as did his bright red suit and black pants. He glanced at the blonde and then he returned to Fiyero.

"I was saying, Mr. Boss that I will pay for her release. Any amount you want, you can have it," said Fiyero as he fished through his pocket and pulled out all the money he had.

"Fiyero!" half yelled Glinda as she snatched the money right out of his hands, "You can't give away your money to some… some freak show! You know how tight we are on money," she hissed at him.

Fiyero seemed to dismiss the whole "tight on money" comment with a sigh and a roll of his eyes.

"My parents can just send us more, it would be fine," he muttered to her and when she was distracted by his words he took back the money and held it out to the dwarf ringmaster.

"Will this be enough?" the prince pressed.

"Fiyero, no!" protested Glinda.

Mr. Boss, the ringmaster, smirked. "Blondie's right, prince-y poo. You think that your money is worth my star attraction? You're just as crazy as the rest of them."

He pushed away the money and started to walk away.

"Wait, please! Can't you see you're hurting her?" shouted Fiyero.

Mr. Boss turned, a quick movement that sent his coat tails flying in the air as they spun around.

"I. Don't. Care," he articulated, "Audiences are spell-binded by her, they tell their friends, and I get more money."

Fiyero stepped forward so that he was in the dwarf's face, "That doesn't make it right."

Mr. Boss just smiled, "And who are you to preach that to a bunch of misfits and freaks?"

With a tip of his hat, Fiyero and Glinda watched as he walked away with the rays of dawn falling in their eyes.

"Good day, Prince Fiyero," he called out, "and Blondie!"

Glinda huffed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, "He better not call me that again."

She noticed that it was getting quite dark, and she tugged at Fiyero's sleeve.

"Come on, let's go home," she said blandly as she turned on her heels and began to walk where their driver was waiting with their carriage.

"Not yet," persisted Fiyero as he pulled away from her, "Mr. Boss said she was in one of the cages. I have to find her."

"Fiyero," Glinda's voice was laced with authority and severe annoyance, "I have had enough, let's go!"

Her feet took a few steps before stopping and turning around to see if he was following her. To her irritation, he wasn't and instead he was peering into all the cages that were nearby, searching for this mysterious green girl. By this time, all of the circus performers had retired for the night in their tents. The darkness of the night began to set in as Glinda watched Fiyero move from cage to cage. The constant tapping of her foot provided another sound to go along with the natural noises the various animals around them made.

"Finally!" exclaimed Fiyero, "I found her." He begun to try and get the bars of the cage to come out.

"Fiyero this is ridiculous!" pointed out Glinda. She stormed over to one of the last cages, which was where Fiyero was, with her arms looking like they were crossed so tightly over her chest that they would snap.

"You've been trying to save this girl that you've never even met and-" her rampage was stopped by her fiancé.

"I don't have to met her to know that she's suffering, Glin. Mr. Boss told me that ten years ago he found her hiding in one of these cages. Apparently, from the looks of it, she ran away from her home. So he took her in and put her in the show as the main attraction. She's been here and has been treated like this ever since," Fiyero's expression turned fierce in the darkness, "No one should have to live like she does."

Glinda opened her mouth and then closed it, for once not wanting to share her opinion.

"But Fiyero what if she doesn't want to go back? What if this was better than what she was living with before?"

He looked at her and Glinda avoided his eyes and instead looked at the form of the sleeping green girl in the cage.

"Then she can come and go as she pleases. But first she can start fresh at our house," he said as he became frustrated with the bars and momentarily gave up.

"Are you crazy?" blurted out Glinda, her eyes wide and her hands on her hips. The loudness of her voice had caused to stir the woman from her sleep for a few seconds, "That girl in our home? No! Fiyero, no I'm putting my foot down on this!"

"Just until we find her parents and or family, I promise," stated Fiyero.

Pouting, Glinda reluctantly gave in to this ridiculous plan. She stood there waiting for him to release the abnormally colored girl, irritated beyond belief at the man she was supposed to be marrying in a few short months.

Fiyero wandered over to the side of the dark red cage and found a door on that side. Ramming into it with his body, he soon broke it.

Glinda watched as he gently woke the sleeping green woman.

"I'm not going to hurt you," said Fiyero in a calm voice when her brown eyes shot open in panic and fright, "I want to help. We," he motioned to Glinda and himself, "can take you away from here if you'd like."

He smiled at her when she inched away from him. Fiyero's heart went out to her. He had never seen a creature, no, a human being look so miserable and scared in his life. Her skin was covered in burn marks, some now scars and then there were the ones from tonight. Though her body was a mess, her features were quite beautiful. Fiyero found himself entranced with those mystical brown eyes that seemed to see straight into his soul. Her hair fell like a black waterfall around her shoulders. Her skin didn't seem to bother Fiyero as he stared at her.

Finally he got out of his thoughts.

"Come with us," he said softly and he extended his hand for her to take.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

A pale hand was extended towards the green girl. It stayed there in the empty air for quite some time before a green hand covered it. Fiyero looked down in surprise as her hand grasped his hand. She pulled herself up from the floor of the cage unsteadily, her tattered and mud covered dress pressing against her thin form. Her dark eyes met his, and instantly there was a type of acknowledgement in both of their eyes.

Fiyero felt sparks fly as he stared into her mystifying eyes but that was soon cut short by Glinda's coughing of impatience.

He stared at his blonde fiancé and then regained his focus.

Leading the way, Fiyero took the green woman out of the cage slowly and quietly. He rejoined Glinda outside in the front.

"There we are. Now let's you bring you home to our house," said Fiyero gently to the woman. She said nothing but her eyes thanked him.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Glinda had gotten tight-lipped and stiff as they began to walk to the carriage. She seemed to be sending death glares to both Fiyero and the green woman. She walked briskly away from them and was the first one in the carriage. Fiyero said a quick word to the driver about the green woman, giving him money so that he would be sure that he would keep his mouth shut. Then he started to get into the carriage. Grabbing his arm as he entered the blonde woman made sure that the prince sat next to her in the carriage, cuddled close together while the green woman sat awkwardly on the other side.

The carriage lurched forward in a few seconds, and everyone inside the carriage stayed silent for the longest time.

It was finally Fiyero who broke the silence with, "I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said to the green girl.

"I'm Fiyero Tiggular," he stated with a smile.

The green girl looked at him with her eyes but did not say a word.

At the stall moment Fiyero elbowed Glinda in the ribs gently, coaxing her into joining in the conversion instead of stewing like he knew she was doing.

With a quick fake smile on her lips, Glinda cleared her throat and looked at the green girl, "I'm Glinda Upland," and then added all too quickly, "soon to be Mrs. Glinda Tiggular though, Princess of the Vinkus."

"Not if you keep us this bitchy act, you won't be," threatened Fiyero in her ear as a whisper. That seemed to stop the death glares to the circus woman from the blonde. Glinda shifted in her seat besides Fiyero, draping one arm over his and lovingly linking her long, slender fingers between his.

"And you are?" she prompted for the green girl.

Both Glinda and Fiyero looked at her in anticipation. The woman on the other side of the carriage fidgeted with her twig-like green fingers in her lap but did not answer the question.

Fiyero frowned at the silence from her and exchanged glances with Glinda.

"Can you speak?" asked Fiyero slowly and hesitantly.

The circus performer nodded. Well, thought Fiyero, that answered one question.

"So why don't you?" cut in Glinda as soon as Fiyero was going to ask another question.

The woman shrugged, her thin shoulders going up and down quickly.

"Do you even have a name?" asked the blonde quite rudely but she knew it would be easier to get rid of the circus woman if they had a name to associate her with.

Again she nodded. This time she scooted over towards the window where Glinda had been sneaking glances out of in order to avoid her eyes. Pressing an emerald index finger towards the fogged up glass, the woman wrote something.

Once she moved away both Fiyero and Glinda peered at the writing that was reflected in the moonlight.

It read in scrawny handwriting: Elphaba.

"Last name?" asked Glinda, looking back and forth between the green woman and the name written on the glass.

In the upper corner Elphaba wrote: Thropp.

"Elphaba Thropp," mused Fiyero, "I like it."

Glinda stared curiously at Elphaba and her blue eyes seemed to be scrutinizing her.

"It's a pretty enough name," she quipped with a brief fake smile.

Elphaba withdrew her hand from the window and massaged her finger with part of her tattered dress.

Fiyero noticed the burn mark that was now on her index finger as soon as she stopped using her dress as a washcloth. Glinda was too busy looking at her own reflection in the window to care or to notice.

"We're going to have to get you a new dress. You can't possibly wear that anymore. Maybe you can borrow one of Glinda's," suggested Fiyero.

That sure got the blonde woman's attention. She snapped her head to glare at Fiyero, her lips pressed tightly together.

"Fine she can borrow one of my dresses," hissed out Glinda with a grimace instead of a smile.

The carriage suddenly stopped and Glinda saw the silhouette of Kiamo Ko highlighted by the rays of the moon behind the dark night sky.

"We're home," said Fiyero happily as he opened the door, and held out his hand to help out both women out of the carriage. As he helped Elphaba out, Glinda ran her hand up and down on the opposite window and Elphaba's name was erased from the fog.

"Glinda?" Fiyero's voice turned the woman around. She looked at his hand that was extended towards her and took it without a word spoken to him. As she descended from the carriage she noticed that even when they started walking towards the castle that Fiyero did not pull his hand away from within her grasp.

It seemed quite odd, seeing that usually the prince would rip his hand out of her 'Ice Queen' grip and walk briskly ahead of her. But Glinda kept this to herself.

The wide gates and doors of Kiamo Ko opened to let them into a stone built, candle lit extravagant castle.

Elphaba marveled at the tapestries, statues, and pictures that were placed strategically around the castle's foyer by Glinda. The torch holders were lined up on either wall like a line of light.

"Do you like it?" asked Fiyero as he looked at Elphaba's face that was filled with wonder.

She nodded and almost gave him something that resembled a smile. Fiyero felt his heart melt for some reason when she did that, but his heart quickly froze as soon as his 'Ice Queen' tugged on his hand.

"Shouldn't we be heading off to bed?" she asked. He nodded but still did not head to their bedroom.

"We should show Elphaba to a guest bedroom," he said as he let go of Glinda's hand and took Elphaba's instead. Flinching at first, Elphaba looked at his hand startled and then her brown eyes traveled up to his face where a warm smile was placed.

"Here, Elphaba you can sleep in this room," said Fiyero as they made their way up the stone staircase and into the solar.

"I know it's not much, but I think you'll like it for as long as you want to stay here. We'd like to help you find your family that is if you want to find them. Just please know that you are always welcome to stay here," said Fiyero, his prince manners charming the green woman. She seemed to blush a darker, more forest green as she looked around the room. She gave him a half-smile as thanks, and Fiyero found himself satisfied that he had her approval. He couldn't help the grin that spread over his face like sunshine. Elphaba noticed for she smirked as she turned towards the bed and began getting herself comfortable.

"Goodnight Elphaba," said Fiyero, remembering his place as Glinda had snaked her hand in Fiyero's in what only could be called a death grip.

"I'm sure you can see yourself to bed, Miss Elphaba. We shall see you in the morning," rushed Glinda as she quickly removed herself and Fiyero from the room.

"What was that for?" snapped Fiyero as soon as his fiancé shut the door rudely on their guest.

"You were gawking at her!" reprimanded Glinda with huff as she turned on her heel and started walking towards their bedroom.

"I was not gawking at her!" defended Fiyero as he followed her inside their room, "I don't even know what that means!" He was frustrated. Even the familiarity comfort of the black drawn curtains, the canopy bed that looked like it was made out of the finest silk, and the special knick-knacks around the room could not ease his tensions.

As he looked around the room he realized that Glinda had disappeared into her walk in closet. Sighing, he took off his shirt and pants and was now only in his boxers. Slipping underneath the covers he could hear her angry footsteps as she paced around her closet, muttering to herself.

He looked up at her when she came out. Dressed in a black nightgown that was far too short and skimpy for his taste he watched as she got into bed next to him with a little girl's pout creased into her beautiful face.

She shifted under the blankets away from him.

"I want her gone by tomorrow," she said in a commanding sort of tone.

"Glinda for Oz's sake!" started Fiyero as he sat up in bed and glared at her slender form. She turned over to look at him.

"I will not have that green FREAK in our house, Fiyero. It's not proper and I won't allow it," she huffed.

"Then you can sleep outside then, with all of the lions and tigers and bears," snapped back Fiyero, thinking that was a clever retort.

Glinda frowned heavily, "You just want to keep her because you're smitten with her," she grumbled.

Fiyero opened his mouth to say something back when he saw the hurt in her eyes.

"Glin… I am not smitten; okay well I'm more fascinated with her. You think I've seen a lot of green people before? No, and I bet you haven't. I guess I'm just curious but it's coming off as being as you put it 'smitten.' I'm sorry I upset you," he put one hand on her shoulder and kissed the bridge of her nose affectionately. When he pulled away she was still pouting.

"Fascination can lead to infatuation, Fifi," she said as somewhat of a warning. Her blue eyes seemed to grow darker in color, like as if Fiyero was traveling to the depths of an ocean or lake by just looking at them.

"I promise there will be nothing between us. I'm just here to help her."

Glinda didn't look convinced and when reflecting back on that statement in his mind Fiyero wasn't too sure for himself either.

Feeling bad for her, Fiyero wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body in close to his.

"I love you," he reminded her, though he wasn't so sure of that now.

"I love you too," said Glinda as she kissed his lips softly. She pulled away shortly afterwards and closed her eyes as she settled back in her place on the other side of the bed, "but she still leaves tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Shimmering rays of sunlight came streaming onto Glinda's face as she woke up at her daily normal time of five o'clock. Sluggishly she fumbled out of bed, waking up Fiyero in the process, and wandered into her walk in closet. Pulling the light on, a bright vibrant sea of different colors greeted her still sleepy eyes. Almost zombie-like, since she had done this about a thousand times, Glinda reached for her dance clothes and shoes, putting them on hurriedly. Once she was done, she shut off the light and returned into the bedroom. Grabbing her leather "Ozzie" bag, she shook Fiyero's shoulder until he awoke.

"I'm leaving for class," she said sharply. He blinked at her for a few seconds before her words sunk in.

"Okay," he muttered as he rolled over, eager to fall back asleep. He felt a hard 'whack' on his back and his eyes flew open and he cursed under his breath.

"And she better not be here when I come back," warned the blonde as she constricted her golden hair into a severe bun. She nitpicked her black leotard and skirt for any signs of loose threads or of lint as she waited for a response.

"Alright, fine," mumbled Fiyero as if he did not care, which he really didn't.

"Fiyero! I mean it," snapped Glinda as she fumbled with the dainty laces of her ballet shoes.

"I know you do, Glin," groaned Fiyero, knowing that tone of voice. He was very tired, but even in his current state of exhaustion he knew that she was angry with him.

Suddenly Fiyero felt the blankets and the comforter torn away from his body. The warmth from the sun streaming in radiated all over his skin as he fully woke up.

"Goodbye, Fiyero. I hope when I return that there will be one less person in this house," she said as she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"You'll be lucky if I even let you back into the house," he grumbled as he put a hand to his face as he groggily woke up. Fiyero shook his head as he regained focus into what was happening around him.

The sunlight hurt his brown eyes as they fluttered open and closed for several seconds. Shifting on the mattress, Fiyero groaned. It was too early in the morning for him to properly deal with Glinda's harsh antics.

Getting out of bed was more exhausting than Fiyero would care to admit to anyone. He quickly got dressed, figuring that he probably would not fall back asleep anytime soon.

Realization hit him all too quickly as he remembered that he had let Elphaba stay in the guest bedroom down the hall. Sighing heavily, still annoyed by Glinda's attitude, he stepped out of his bedroom, crept down the hallway and knocked on the door of the guest bedroom.

"Elphaba, are you up?" Fiyero asked.

With no answer heard by him, the prince cautiously opened the door and looked inside the room.

"Elphaba?" his voice echoed through the room until his eyes caught sight of her. She was sitting next to the window on the bench that connected to the wall. Her green skin gleamed in the sunlight and that entranced Fiyero greatly. But he shook himself out of the trance quite quickly when Glinda's words were found echoing inside of his head.

You're smitten with her!"

Fiyero disagreed slightly. He was fascinated with Elphaba but not smitten, at least not yet.

She turned when she heard his footsteps on the carpet and smiled at him to acknowledge his presence.

"You're up early," remarked Fiyero as he took a few more steps in her direction. Elphaba just smiled and shrugged at the fact, like she knew that but didn't really think it was a big deal.

The prince shifted his weight from one foot to the other in the stifling silence that came between them, anxiously waiting for her to speak or at least say something.

"You know, you can talk now. It's," his tone of voice implying that he was mocking his fiancé by calling her a thing, "gone off to dance class. She won't be back till around noon."

He smiled warmly at her, thinking himself clever in the nickname for Glinda being "It" but Elphaba yet said nothing.

She was staring at him now, Fiyero figured it was because she had never seen someone of such skin color as his. The cuffed sleeves of the shirt and the shirt itself made his skin seem like bronze compared to Glinda's snow like complexion, and even Elphaba's skin tone.

Remembering suddenly why he was here, Fiyero awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I, um just want to know if you remember where you lived before you joined the circus? Gillikin, perhaps, or maybe here in the Vinkus? So we can help you get back home," the words fumbled out of his mouth ungracefully, which was a first for the prince. Even if he didn't know what he was saying, he always made sure that he sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

But suddenly, talking to Elphaba made everything different. Fiyero couldn't tell if his words and actions pleasure her or annoyed her and it was driving him mad not to know what she was thinking, but it also fascinated him. He spent most of his days with Glinda, whether it was time spent reluctantly or not, and could tell exactly what the blonde was thinking just by a look, glance, or a stomp of her foot.

Glinda was an open book and always had been. Fiyero had never had to deal with any other kind of girl before… and he had to say that it intrigued him.

The green woman just looked at him as he flickered his brown eyes away from her and bit his lip numerous times waiting for an answer.

"Munchkinland," came a melodic voice and Fiyero looked at Elphaba to see that it was her, "I used to live in Munchkinland."

Her voice was a bit foreign, as if not speaking had altered the tone and the way she said her words, but it was still pretty nonetheless. Fiyero was grateful to hear another sound other than the high-pitched squeals and shrieks of Glinda for a change.

"But I'm not going back," Elphaba was quick to add with a harsh glare aimed at Fiyero.

The prince was confused all of a sudden, "Why? What do you mean you won't go back?" he pressed.

Elphaba raked her slender twig-like fingers through the black waterfall that she called her own hair in nervousness and her eyes glazed over like she was in another place altogether.

"I won't," she said softly but firmly, "And you can't make me."

Exasperated at the protests, Fiyero sighed and finally decided to agree.

"All right, but Glinda won't like this one bit," stated Fiyero for later reference when Elphaba would blame him for not telling her how the blonde would react.

"Would you mind not telling her that we talked about this, or that I talk in general," asked the green woman as she shifted so that her limber arms were wrapped around her bony knees.

"Why-ever not?" asked the prince, curious as to why someone would ask such a question. Hadn't she ever spoken to anyone before, his mind wandered into thoughts of stories combining what Mr. Boss had told him about Elphaba and what he had gathered from the girl himself. None of them seemed too cheerful or happy.

"It's just," Elphaba paused and pursed those grayish lips together, her mind racing to find the right words, "that bad things happened whenever I speak…"

She left it at that for no other words were needed.

"Fine, but to tell you the truth Glinda's…" the prince trailed off not sure whether it was his job to reveal the true nature of the other woman to the circus performer but in the end he decided it would be better if she knew now than later, "not as welcoming of you as I am. She had hoped that you would have been gone before she got back from dance class."

Elphaba's face held no emotions of hurt and Fiyero was glad that the green woman did not take offence to Glinda's selfish attitude.

"I will gladly leave," said Elphaba as she hurriedly got up from the windowsill bench. Her pathetic excuse for a black dress swung around her legs like she was a pauper. Fiyero noticed that she was still improperly dressed.

"Not like that you aren't," he added.

Elphaba looked up at him, her brown eyes widening in shock and surprise and even a hint of amusement hidden in her irises.

Her lips formed into something that resembled a smirk.

"Am I dressed too poorly for you, Fifi?" her voice turned cold as she mocked him. A thin eyebrow of hers was raised as she scoffed and attempted to move past him.

But Fiyero was not about to lose her that easily, or be mocked like that without any retort. He knew it was not in the way of a gentleman or a prince to act the way he did in his following actions but he knew he had no other way of stopping her.

As her body moved past his, Fiyero reached out and grabbed a hold of her forearm firmly but not harshly.

Caught off guard greatly, Elphaba spun around to face him.

Time seemed to freeze when their eyes met.

Brown eyes stared into lighter bronze-brown colored ones, as all of the earth in the world collided as they looked at each other.

In that moment, nothing mattered. The brilliant ruby red colors of the walls, the lavish decorating on the furniture, the fact that Fiyero was engaged to Glinda, the fact that Elphaba was no more than a circus performer, none of it mattered.

Fiyero felt his heart slow down as his hand slowly traveled up her arm. His eyes turned to the bruises and scars he saw on the skin. He felt sick and horrible for just looking at them.

"Fiyero," Elphaba's voice distracted him from the things he was feeling at that moment, "What are you doing?"

It was more of a self-assessment question. Fiyero blinked as he asked himself the same question.

What was he doing?

Here he was, holding the forearm of a girl he had barely met, willing to risk it all to help her? Maybe Glinda had been right about what she had said a few weeks ago, maybe he was growing soft… Or maybe this was the thing, the change that he had been waiting for…

Either way, Fiyero could tell as he looked back at Elphaba's face that she was uncomfortable, or in the very least caught off guard by what was happening.

Letting her arm slip from his fingertips Fiyero wordlessly watched as the green woman took a few steps back from him, her other hand grazing the skin where he had touched.

"I'm-" started Fiyero, his prince-like manners and etiquette swarming his mind once more.

"Don't be," cut off Elphaba as she regained some of her composure. Her sharp features softened when she saw the hurt look on his face.

Fiyero swallowed hard as a silence built up between the two of them.

"You won't mention this to Glinda, will you Elphaba?" asked Fiyero, the little loyalty that he still had to the tiny blonde coming through.

Elphaba looked at him with a slight glare in her eyes. She paused for a moment before saying, "How can I?" she asked, cocking her head in fake innocence, "How can you even think about me doing that when you know I don't speak…"

Taking the hint, Fiyero nodded and silently thanked her with his eyes.

She didn't seem to notice or care, which made Fiyero want to please and not freak her out even more.

"Come with me," he said after a moment, "I just realized that I never answered your question."

Elphaba looked at him, her eyes narrowed and her face cross.

"You are dressed too poorly for me," he stated and Elphaba looked slightly affronted.

He held out his hand as more than just a peace offering but to also lead her to Glinda's closet to figure out what she was going to wear.

"You sure she won't mind?" asked the green woman, her hand wavering towards his as she waited to get her answer.

'Oh, no she will. But it will be fun to see how she reacts," said Fiyero with a slight laugh. He could already picture the temper tantrum she would have when she came home to find out that Elphaba had not left, and even worse that she was wearing one of her dresses.

"Well, then I guess that settles it," said Elphaba with a half smile on her face as she took his hand.

Fiyero could only stare and smile in wonder at the mysteries the green woman was slowly revealing to him.

He knew that it would end in a brutal fight but he didn't care what Glinda said. Elphaba was staying and she could stay for as long as she liked.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

"Now," Fiyero said as he guided Elphaba to Glinda and his bedroom, "Which one of Glinda's hideous, glittering dresses will you have the honor of wearing until we figure out what we're going to do with you?" he asked.

Elphaba grimaced in response as she trudged along behind the man into the packed-full space that was called Glinda's closet.

The glitters and sparkles at first blinded her eyes when Fiyero turned on the light. She grew even more displeased when her eyes adjusted to bright vibrant colors that greeted her.

Fiyero looked slightly amused with her alarmed and shocked expression for his lips twitched as he watched her in wonder.

"Doesn't she have anything black?" asked the green woman lifting and then putting back a baby pink dress in its place on the hanger.

"Her black clothes are only reserved for funerals and occasions where she has to look, and I quote 'Galindafied,'" said Fiyero in a tone that was just fighting back the laughter in his throat.

Elphaba whirled around to make sure the expression on his face was serious. To her horror it was, and soon she found herself biting back bursts of laughter.

"She's even crazier than I gave her credit for," muttered Elphaba as her fingertips gently slid across the array of different fabrics as she mulled over which one to chose.

Fiyero smirked and even so felt like he should defend his fiancé.

"She's really not that crazy, she's just…" he searched through his limited vocabulary for the right word, "difficult to handle at times."

"Oh, and how so?" prompted Elphaba when she turned his back to him and searched the never ending closet to find something to wear that did not sparkle or glitter.

"Well," started Fiyero as he sat down on Glinda's petite white ottoman, "She's an only child so you have to factor in the realization that she has never been denied anything that she wants. She comes from a wealthy family so she lived in high luxury and demands that she does so even now in these hard times. When I met her, back at Shiz, I first thought she was a snobbish, selfish little spoiled brat."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow at him, "And you think she's changed? I certainly don't," she snorted as she turned back to her dress searching.

Fiyero sighed. Glinda was a difficult person to explain to someone.

"She's not all that she seems," explained Fiyero, "She does have a brain, she does think about things, she does know what's morally right and what is morally wrong she just sometimes forgets. It's because of the world she grew up in. She doesn't know another way and when the other side of things that she doesn't know about comes into her life, she panics and becomes the snobby bitch that I knew her as."

"So she's a coward," stated Elphaba.

That statement made Fiyero freeze.

"What?"

She turned around to look at him, her face filled with confusion, "What do you mean what? I think I clearly said what I had to say."

"I don't know," stammered Fiyero even though he really did, "It's just-"

Elphaba settled her hands on her hips as she decided that his pathetic excuse was simply not going to stand with her.

"Fiyero, from what you are telling me I'm making the assumption that she is a coward. She has grown up privileged and spoiled and when the real world seeps in around her, she's the first one to run away no matter what the consequences. She can't deal with the truth of life, and so she is a coward."

"No," Fiyero protested, "That's not what I'm saying at all. She's not… like that."

But Elphaba smirked at him for a brief moment, "Maybe you're just too close to see it."

"You shouldn't assume anything," was his retort to that.

An amused look played out on her green face as she processed that.

"Oh really? All right, well neither should you. I heard what you said about me last night when you were trying to rescue me," her expression turned fierce, "You don't know me, and you never will," she hissed at him.

Her words were passionate and Fiyero felt like the bond that was between them was breaking over this.

"You don't know us either, Glinda or me," he said as he stood up from the ottoman and crossed the closet towards the door. Any feelings he had for Elphaba had evaporated for the moment, though the reason why Fiyero himself was not clear on. He figured that it was his stupid, foolish loyalty to Glinda that had eliminated all feelings for the green woman, and he cursed his fiancé for it.

He heard a sigh when he was just about to open the door.

"I'm not very good at this," admitted Elphaba as she turned around. Fiyero's back was still turned to her as he stopped in the doorway, "I've never really talked to anyone before and my manners are not that good. I'm sorry that I keep saying things and doing things that make you upset," her voice sounded quite sincere and Fiyero turned to look at her, "In the circus I never really spoke with anyone, I usually kept to myself and before that I rarely spoke either…" she trailed off for a moment with a gleam in her eyes that vanished as quickly as it came, "I can see that what you are trying to do is good and what a gentlemen should do, so thank you."

Fiyero bit his lip and he nodded, "You're welcome," his voice low and calm.

Elphaba played with the strands of hair that were falling in her face nervously, "And about what I said about-"

Fiyero waved her apology away with his hand, "Don't worry about it, really," he looked at her eyes, "Maybe you are right and I just can't see it."

A half smiled light up Elphaba's face and Fiyero himself smiled back at her.

"I don't know why I am so fiercely loyal to her," admitted Fiyero with a furrowed brow. Deep down, he did know the reason but that was something he did not want to share with anyone just yet.

Elphaba said nothing but it was clear from the message her eyes sent that she wondered why too.

Silence hung in the air for a few minutes after that, the awkwardness of their apologies still lingering.

"So," Fiyero was the first one to break the ice, "Have you found a dress yet that you deem suitable?"

Elphaba moved her head from side to side as she pursed her lips, a sign that she was wavering on a decision Fiyero guessed.

"Well, I mean I like this one," Elphaba took a red flowing dress of the rack, "What do you think?"

She held it up to her body that was even skinnier than Glinda's, Fiyero observed and waited for an answer.

"I think," Fiyero paused, "that you look like a Lurlinemas tree with those… um colors. Your um, skin and that dress don't really… go together," he said his words hesitantly for he did not want to offend her.

Elphaba looked back at the dress and then at her body multiple times, "Hm, you're right."

She hung the dress back up on the hanger and pulled out a beautiful black dress that looked like it had been made out of black spider webs. As she placed it in front of her for Fiyero to see, the prince suddenly felt as if his lungs had failed him and as if time had stopped for that one moment.

He admitted to himself that she looked… stunning was the only word he could come up with. The dress blended in with her skin tone and there were just enough sequins that id didn't blind people like the rest of Glinda's dresses did. It had long sleeves and a swirling skirt to accompany the tight bodice of the dress.

"I really love this one," said Elphaba who seemed eager to wear the dress.

Fiyero bit his lip and averted her gaze. He didn't have the heart to tell her it was a costume that Glinda wore once for Halloween.

"And look, it has a hat," Elphaba pulled out the witch's hat that had came with the dress and plopped it on her head.

"Do I look rich enough for you now, your majesty?" she asked teasingly as she struck a pose.

"It's a costume, you can't go out in public looking like that," finally Fiyero told her the truth.

His words didn't seem to affect her for she merely shrugged and kept the hat on.

"Why not, some of these other dresses that she has are ones that I wouldn't wear in public," she snapped back at him with sass.

Biting back what he first was going to say, Fiyero gave in, "Alright," he said, "You can wear the costume. Glinda was looking to get rid of it anyway."

Fiyero got up and left the closet for a moment giving the woman time to change.

When she showed up in the bedroom again, Fiyero was blown away by the effect that the dress had on how she looked. Elphaba no longer looked like a beggar from the streets. She looked quite elegant in that dramatic costume that she was wearing. Her hips seemed tinier than ever in the tight bodice that clung to her small body. It flowed out and around her ankles and swayed when she walked. The hat too, Fiyero dared to admit, was kind of a nice touch.

Deep down he knew that Glinda would be furious with him for A, him letting her choose what she would wear, and B for letting her stay here.

But no matter how aggravated he got with Elphaba there were still some feelings for her that refused to let him kick her out. He was still enchanted by her and he feared that he always would be.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" asked Elphaba.

Fiyero blinked at her, he hadn't even realized that he had been looking at her for that long. He cleared his throat, murmuring his apologies as he did so.

"It's just that you look very pretty in that," is what he finally sputtered out with after a moment of silence.

Elphaba's face dropped a bit, "Oh." Though she held no expression of disappointment or of sadness Fiyero could tell that something about what he had said bothered her.

She glanced at the clock, noticing that it was nearly noon now.

"Isn't your fiancé supposed to be back soon?" she asked him as she took a few steps towards him.

Fiyero sighed, "Yes and come what may when she does."

Elphaba lightly smiled at that, "Remember what I said… you can't tell her that I speak. No good ever comes from it."

Fiyero looked at her, wondering what deep secrets she was hiding from him that would cause her to say such things about herself.

"I don't believe that," said Fiyero truthfully, "but I promise to respect your wishes."

Elphaba said nothing to that and Fiyero was interrupted by what he was going to say by the swinging of the door opening.

"Fiyero, I'm back," called out Glinda's voice as she clicked her way through the castle up into their room.

When her eyes landed on Elphaba they seemed to bulge and then freeze.

"What are you still doing here, and why are you in one of my Halloween costumes?" shrieked the blonde, utterly furious.

Fiyero looked at Elphaba, Elphaba avoided his gaze by looking downward, and Glinda's eyes were flickering back and forth between the two of them.

This was not going to be pretty.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

"Glinda for Oz's sake will you let me explain before you start freaking out?" sighed Fiyero mentally exhausted at Glinda's tantrum already.

"No, I will not!" screamed Glinda as she stamped her foot on the wooden floor and threw down her bag as she stared with a death-stare at Elphaba.

"You promised me that she would be gone, and she's still here!" Glinda pointed a shaking slender finger at the green woman and added, "And in my witch's costume!"

"Glinda, will you calm down?" Fiyero was trying to reason with her. He could see that she was near tears.

"YOU LIED!" she shouted at him as she strode towards him and began to beat his chest with her fists, "You're a liar, Fiyero and I hate you for it!"

Instead of trying to restrain her blows to his chest, which really didn't hurt that bad, Fiyero just let her hit him.

"I'm sick of this! I'm sick of all of this! She needs to go now or- or I will kill myself!" she screamed.

Fiyero rolled his eyes at her flair for the dramatics. She was always the one to over-exaggerate everything, but this time Fiyero actually really couldn't blame her. He guessed that she deserved to be furious with him. If it had been the other way around, Fiyero would have acted the same way she was acting.

"Glinda," he tried to wrap his arms around her comfortingly but she would have none of it. She shoved his arms away from her tearfully as she glared at him fully.

Those blue eyes of hers that were usually gentle were now as cold as ice and it quite frankly scared him. She had been mad before, but never this mad.

"Don't touch me, don't!" she threatened as she backed away from him. The black form of her dance attire stretched and cinched as she breathed heavily for a few moments.

Elphaba shifted her weight in the awkward silence and Glinda snapped her gaze towards her for a minute.

"Do you still not talk?" she hissed at the circus performer.

Elphaba said nothing and looked at the blonde in the eyes. The brown mixed with the blue, almost as if the waters of the world collided with the earth. Underneath Glinda's frustration and anger, a fascination for the green girl developed deep down. Sparks flew in her heart but she quickly disintegrated the feelings and the sparks before they had the chance to consume her thoughts. Glinda had caught herself thinking, just harmlessly thinking about the green woman in dance class today but Glinda swore to herself that there would be no more of that. It was just plain stupid of her to think that way, especially in the certain circumstances she was in now.

Glinda didn't like the way Elphaba was staring at her. She was looking at her like she felt pity for her or that she was annoyed with her. Either way Glinda was irritated by the emotion from the inferior woman. She was sick of those judgmental eyes scrutinizing her every-time she glanced the green girl's way.

Picking up her bag that she had so carelessly tossed onto the floor, Glinda turned on her heels with a shriek and stormed out of the room without another word.

Fiyero followed her as she clamored down the staircase and through the halls of the castle.

"Glinda, where are you going?" called out Fiyero as he desperately tried to keep up with her. Had it not been for those clacking heels that she had changed into from dance class Fiyero never would have been able to keep track of her, despite his hunting training.

"Out, and don't expect me to be back until tomorrow," she said hastily.

That made Fiyero pause with shock.

"You're leaving," said Fiyero as he finally caught up with her in the library. He shut the door behind him as Glinda froze where she was. Turning towards him he saw angry tears in those eyes of hers.

"Yes, I'm going to go cool off," she said as her breath hitched. Tears fell from her eyes when she gazed at him. Her body trembled with sobs as they just looked at each other for a prolonged moment that felt like hours.

"Do I," Glinda broke the silence with her quivering soprano voice, "mean nothing to you anymore? Am I not exotic enough for you? Because I will NOT be upstaged in my own household by a green circus freak, Fiyero! Tell me she means nothing to you, and maybe, just maybe," her voice rose a bit, "I'll come back tomorrow morning."

Fiyero took a hesitant step forward and grasped Glinda's hands in his own, but not without her trying to pull her hands away first.

"She means nothing to me," lied Fiyero, "I'm just trying to help her."

He felt bad about lying, but he couldn't tell her about what happened when he had grabbed Elphaba's forearm. Sparks had flown inside of him, and he knew it would kill Glinda to know that.

"You mean everything to me," said Fiyero passionately as he kissed her hands.

"Words," muttered Glinda harshly as she tore her hands away from his clutch. Fiyero sighed again, trying to remain calm.

"Glin… I love you," he finally said after a beat of silence.

The blonde stared at him and she was suddenly reminded of Fiyero of the dashing prince she had met at Shiz three years ago. She stared into those brown eyes, searching for those feelings he initially had for her but to her utter disappointment she did not find them.

Glinda watched wordlessly as Fiyero cupped her chin in one of his hands and pressed his lips to hers. She relished in the fact that at one point, his touch had made her happy, aroused at times even, but now it only brought misery.

She knew she needed to get away.

The prince's fiancée pulled away from his face and bit her lips while they looked at each other.

"You don't believe me," the prince realized.

Glinda didn't want to answer him. She shuffled her feet in her heels as her eyes moved to look at the ground.

"Glinda, I am just trying to do a good deed, a charitable thing for her," Fiyero insisted.

"Charity?" mocked Glinda in a false voice, "We can't afford to give charity, Fiyero. There's too many people nowadays that need it and we just can't help all of them. You know that."

"I think you're just being selfish," admitted Fiyero, "You won't let me help this girl and yet you go out and buy yourself new clothes and jewelry. And then you tell me we're tight on money."

Glinda's face grew hurt and Fiyero knew that his words had hit deep.

"This is not charity," she shouted at last, "I know why you brought her here! You like her, you like her better than me because she's some exotic freak! You just want her here for your own pleasure, and if I'm wrong then tell me so!"

Glinda waited for a moment, her eyes piercing Fiyero's, her chest heaving in aggravation and hurt.

She waited for him to tell her that she was wrong, she wanted for those words but they never came.

But this time he couldn't lie to her. He couldn't dare tell her another lie that he would have to keep up with. The prince just casted his gaze to the floor and said nothing.

Pain and sadness radiated throughout her whole body and Glinda could feel the tears coming.

She sniffled and tried to keep them back but even still she could feel as a couple slide down her face. Her heart felt like it was broken and she couldn't stand to be in the house with those two anymore.

She gave her fiancé a watery smile before it turned into a bittersweet frown, "I was right," was all she said.

She moved past him roughly and Fiyero did nothing.

He let her walk out of the door and out of his life, at least for the time being.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

She slammed the wooden doors behind her as she left the protective walls of the castle and ventured out into the city. Draping the cloak that she had grabbed on her way out over her shoulders and her head, Glinda began to walk down the path towards the village.

She needed time to think, time to clear her head. All she could do now was cry. Tears leaked from her eyes and fell from her face onto the dirt of the pathway rapidly. She was angry with them both; neither of them was guiltier than the other. It had been on both parts that this had happened.

Glinda didn't even know if anything had happened between Fiyero and Elphaba but just the mere thought of Fiyero looking at her with lust was enough to make Glinda sick. He was supposed to be in love with her. He was supposed to look at her with lust in his eyes. Why had that changed? What was so different about Glinda versus Elphaba?

The blonde crossed over a bridge and found herself stopping to look at her reflection. Normally the blonde thought of herself as beautiful but today she looked like a withered rose.

Her blonde hair cascaded down her back and around her shoulders; the image wavered in the trembling waters of the river below. Her eyes matched the color of the river and her cherry red lips brought a pop of color to the scene of grey and white mountains surrounded by the endless amount of trees.

"What have I done to deserve this?" she asked herself.

Finding no answer to her question other than the whispering wind, Glinda sighed heavily and refused her mind to ponder any more time on what had happened back at the castle.

The afternoon air was all around her but it might it as well had been night so that the world could have matched her feelings. Her feet crunched the fall leaves that were swirling beneath her as she walked away from the bridge and the water.

The hours passed as she walked and Glinda soon found herself in the village. A hideous sight greeted her, though that was the new way of life now, with people huddled together in alleyways in rags. People came up to her, grabbing at her ankles, begging for money and food. They were the epitome of miserable.

Glinda knew that this was the way that most people lived their lives, with the economic recession in full swing, and the people of Oz scrambling to make a mere dollar a day and find shelter from the grisly scenes of the street.

She strode through the dirty streets, trying to resist the feelings of sorrow she felt for these people. Her parents had told her that those people had chosen their way of life and that she had chosen hers. She had grown up having no pity for poor people and even though her conscious tugged at her heart with the idea, she did not intend to start having any now.

Stepping on the cobblestones lightly she passed by the busy street and found herself not stopping in any of the stores to buy anything. Toying with the money she had stowed away in her pocket, Glinda resisted the urge to buy anything and continued walking.

Where she was going or headed the blonde woman had no idea. Her muscles, sore from the relentless hours spent at dance class, begged her to stop but she persisted despite the pain.

She needed time to consider what to do next. Her mind spun with the possibilities. Should she stay with Fiyero? Or should she pack up her things and leave, entering a new world on her own?

The choice, at least to Glinda, seemed obvious. She was utterly convinced that she could win Fiyero back…

"I just have to be nice to that circus freak from now on, and he'll see what a good person I am," Glinda had started talking to herself as she entered yet another forest, "Then he will have to take me back," she paused and added, "It also wouldn't hurt to wear that lingerie more often that I got last Lurlinemas from him."

She smiled at that thought and muttered to herself, "Yes, that could work."

But then the topic of what to do about that circus girl popped into her head. She couldn't get rid of her now even if she tried. Her fiancé was too smitten with her to let that happen. Her mind briefly wondered if she should leave him if he pursued his obvious feelings for the circus woman. But Glinda knew that her parents and herself would never allow herself to let a man like Fiyero slip through her grasp for any reason. He was perfect after all, a prince with more money that Glinda had ever dreamed of having to call her own. She couldn't leave now, not when she was so close to being his wife. She couldn't nor would she let Elphaba take that away from and Glinda reluctantly guessed that she would have to put up with her until they found someplace to send her to.

Grimacing at the mere thought of it, Glinda suddenly felt a cool chill and shuddered. Glinda realized that it was nighttime now. She had been gone for nearly six hours.

Her surroundings, as she glanced around, did not look at all familiar and she cursed herself for not paying strict attention to where she was going.

Trees, a multitude of trees, engulfed her with their swaying arm like branches, the leaves rustling in the wind, and Glinda felt a bit scared. She had always traveled with Fiyero around the Vinkus so they had never gotten lost before.

The darkness flooded all around her while the moonlight casted a spotlight on where she was in the woods. Wrapping the cloak around herself even tighter than she had before, Glinda ventured into the woods hoping that a village was nearby.

With no light to guide her, she blindly walked through the forest, jumping and being skittish at every noise that she heard with good reason.

The blonde woman stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a multitude of voices and something being dragged across the forest floor. Shaking in fear, Glinda bit her lip and hoped to Lurline that it was not murderers or rapists and she prayed that they would not see her.

Her eyes could only see shadows but it was enough to make out profiles and figure what things were.

There were four of them, small men dragging a huge metal thing across the dirt of the woods. Its outer material gleamed in the moonlight. Glinda gasped when she realized that it was a metal dragon.

Pressing her back against a tree, Glinda stayed still in order to not been seen. She quieted her breath as best she could and only hoped that they would just pass through and leave her be.

"Boss, can't we take a break?" one of them complained as Glinda heard their footsteps stopping.

"Sure," said whoever the leader was, "Besides the clock said we should stop about here."

Glinda frowned in puzzlement at that statement.

"Are you sure that she'll be here, Boss? I mean you trust a metal clock for directions…" another worker asked and then trailed off.

Glinda froze when she heard the word 'she'. They couldn't possibly be talking about her! No, it was absurd to even think of it.

"The clock never lies," hissed the leader.

Glinda heard his footsteps come closer and closer to the tree that she was hiding behind. She closed her eyes in order to hide the alluring and captivating blue color of her eyes that would surely be seen by him. She stiffened against the bark as he rested his body against the other side of the tree. She opened her eyes after a few moments of not hearing anything.

Suddenly and un-expectantly he jumped at her and cried out, "Boo!"

Glinda shrieked a full-blown scream and skidded away from him.

He simply laughed at her, "Oh come now, Blondie, you can't tell me that you don't remember me? You did, after all, steal my main attraction!"

It took Glinda a moment to put the pieces together but when she did she took a few hesitant steps towards the dwarf in puzzlement.

"Mr. Boss?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

It had been hours since Glinda's dramatic departure and the castle was full of playful banter between Elphaba and Fiyero.

"All right, your turn," said Fiyero as he sat in one of his huge black leather chairs in the library. Elphaba sat across from him in a similar chair.

"Um," the green woman bit her lip, "Favorite season?"

Fiyero leaned back in his chair, relaxed and grinned.

"That's easy," he said, "Summer."

A brief smile crossed Elphaba's face, "You're not going to tell me why?" The empty castle, besides its two inhabitants, was dead of any life and it had been that way for a while now. Fiyero and Elphaba had been talking ever since Glinda had left, neither of them mentioning the blonde's sudden action to leave.

"I've always liked the fact that in summer I could stay up later and I like the warm season. It's better than having your surroundings always covered with snow," explained Fiyero with a slight grin.

"What about yours?" asked the prince for a change in topic, "What's your favorite season?"

"Winter," answered Elphaba sounding quite confident of her choice. With her knees to her chest, she had her arms wrapped around her knees in the dress that she was wearing which was Glinda's witch costume.

They had been talking now for hours about random and pointless things, neither of them touching upon the subject of how she came to be a circus performer. Fiyero sensed that that was something that was meant to be talked about another time.

"Why?" stressed and teased Fiyero with a goofy smile on his face.

"Oh, I don't know. I just like the brutal cold, I guess," said Elphaba with a soft smile on her face.

Fiyero nodded taking that in, and he was about to ask another question when the door opened.

Elphaba and Fiyero turned to see if it was a servant or someone like that but they both were surprised to see blonde hair.

"Glinda?" said Fiyero a bit nervously as he stood up to greet his fiancée.

But Glinda wasn't looking at him she was staring at Elphaba, almost as if she was slightly afraid of her.

"You can speak," said the blonde to Elphaba coldly.

Elphaba fidgeted in her chair as she uncomfortably met Glinda's eyes.

"I can," she answered, "I was just talking to Fiyero about our favorites seasons."

Elphaba's voice was hesitant and sincere; it almost sounded like she was trying to be on Glinda's good side.

"Favorite seasons?" laughed Glinda sharply as she stepped into the room more, "Is that some sort of code that you two came up with that I should or should not be aware of? You two are lucky I didn't catch you doing anything else…" snapped the blonde.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" roared Fiyero as he grabbed both of Glinda's wrists only to stop her from approaching Elphaba.

"What is wrong with me?" repeated Glinda, "I think the question is what is wrong with you, Fiyero?"

Fiyero sighed but he kept his grip on her slender wrists.

"Glinda, I thought we talked about this," he whispered in his angry, warning tone. Glinda's ice blue eyes met his brown ones with fierceness.

"Well obviously it hasn't been fixed, now has it dearest?" she hissed at him.

Both of them momentarily forgot that Elphaba was there; they forgot that she was listening to every word they said even though they were whispering to each other.

"I am not going to just kick her out!" defended the prince. He glanced back at Elphaba and when his gaze returned to Glinda's, his eyes were full of love and lust.

Glinda's lips turned into firm line and she felt her control in this relationship plummet.

"I don't want you to kick her out," said Glinda sweetly as she remembered her plan to get Fiyero back, "I just wish that you would spend a little less time with her all alone. I would like to…" Glinda struggled to get these few words out due to what had happened in the woods and the fact that it was still fresh in her brain, "get to know her too."

Fiyero loosened his grip on her at once and he actually smiled.

"You mean that, Glinda?" he asked, that boyish smile that he had charmed her with at Shiz back on his face.

"Of course I do," lied the young blonde woman, "I want to be with you, and if you want to spend time with her then so do I."

It was a complete lie of course. Glinda still wanted nothing to do with the green woman, even more so because of what Mr. Boss had said to her.

She shuddered as she remembered what she had learnt and Glinda would have rather ran from the room than be in it with Elphaba.

"Oh, Glin," whispered Fiyero and his hand traced the side of her face lovingly. He actually looked like he was in love with her again. Glinda smiled at that small gesture towards hope and kissed Fiyero on the lips softly just enough to leave him wanting more.

But Fiyero pulled away sooner than Glinda had anticipated and the blonde nearly fell over.

"I have a great idea, you guys can have a sleepover in the library tonight!" he said excitedly as he looked to both of the women.

Glinda looked at him like he was crazy.

"Fiyero, you can't be serious," she groaned.

But Fiyero looked quite insistent, determined at best.

"Of course I'm serious," he defended himself and he grabbed a hold of the two women's arms and pulled them closer to one another.

"You two are going to have some grown up girl bonding time!"

Both the blonde and the green woman looked horrified at the idea.

"No," said Elphaba sharply ripping her arm out of the prince's grasp.

"For once," added Glinda, "I agree with Elphaba. I'm too tired tonight."

Elphaba merely smiled at the blonde woman but Glinda wasn't looking and nor did she want to. She kept her eyes on Fiyero.

"You said you wanted to get to know her," Fiyero used her own words against her and Glinda cursed herself for even saying such a thing.

"Darling," started the blonde, "This is ridiculous! What are you planning on doing? Locking us up together in here for the night?"

Before either woman could move Fiyero made a beeline for the library door, successfully opening, shutting, and locking it all before Elphaba or Glinda knew what had happened.

A few steps behind him Glinda ran over to the door and pounded on it.

"Fiyero!" her high-pitched voice was shrill, "Open this door right now!"

Both women heard whistling on the other side for a moment.

"I'm not opening this door until I hear talking…" said Fiyero slyly.

"You'll hear a lot more than talking if you don't open the door soon dearest!" grumbled the blonde.

With no answer or retort coming from the other side, Glinda cursed and stomped her foot like a four year old.

"Fiyero this is not what I meant when I said I wanted to get to know her!" shrieked the blonde, a last attempt to get him to open the door. But he didn't and Glinda remained frustrated.

"Is he always this determined?"

Elphaba's question startled her and made her jump. Glinda turned her way.

"I'm afraid so," Glinda sighed, irritated, "He's never had anyone tell him no before or say he can't do anything so he is usually determined that he will always get what he wants."

"And so I've heard have you," added Elphaba a bit coldly. It was a sly remark, Glinda realized, and she figured that Fiyero must have said something about her character and behavior to their new guest.

Elphaba moved from her spot in the library a bit closer to Glinda, and the blonde could see that the green woman was hesitant. Glinda was too, and it took a lot of courage to take a few more steps away from the door and towards the other woman.

Glinda didn't want to be in this situation, not after what Mr. Boss and the Clock had told her. She was afraid that what they had predicted might come true. Swallowing hard and bracing herself for what was to come Glinda took one step closer to Elphaba.

"Are there any other doors we could try and open?" asked Elphaba looking around the enormous library.

"No they're all locked," said Glinda flatly as she flopped down in a chair, exhausted beyond belief.

"Well, I mean it's nearly one o' clock in the morning," remarked Elphaba as she sat down in the opposite chair next to Glinda, "We only have a few hours to endure of this."

Glinda glanced at the grandfather clock that was right in front of the fireplace that was ticking away and she sighed.

"One too many hours I'm afraid," whispered Glinda as she curled in her legs and smoothed out her dress. She folded up her cloak and put it down on the carpet. The candles all around the two women flickered and casted shadows off the walls and the shelves of leather-bounded books.

"So now we wait," mused Elphaba to herself and she caught Glinda's eye. The blonde swallowed and nodded, "And now we wait…"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

The library was silent as the hours dragged on with Glinda and Elphaba locked in the library together by Fiyero.

"So what do we do now?" asked Elphaba, trying to make some polite conversation.

Glinda had been staring at the dancing flames in the fireplace and her gaze slowly reached Elphaba's after she had asked the question. Neither had spoken to each other in the hour that had passed. This was the first time the two women had ever actually, well, talked.

"I guess we could talk," suggested Glinda hesitantly. Her gut was telling her not to though. She crossed and uncrossed her legs repeatedly in some sort of nervous fit.

"So what do you want to talk about?" asked Elphaba as her brown eyes seared into Glinda's blue ones.

"Well," Glinda chewed on her bottom lip as she thought, "I guess we could ask the basic questions until we can think of others."

Elphaba pulled in her knees towards her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"That sounds good to me," she said slowly.

"How old are you?" was the first question out of Glinda's mouth. She was actually quite curious to find out, to see if she was older or younger than the circus performer.

"I think I'm twenty if my calculations are correct," answered Elphaba. She looked to Glinda as if to inquire the same question. But Glinda was hung up on what Elphaba had said.

"What do you mean if 'my calculations are correct'?" she asked, peering at the green girl.

Elphaba turned a darker shade of green; something that Glinda guessed was a blush.

"I mean, if I really was eight when I joined the circus then that was twelve years ago so I would be twenty now," she explained with more than slight hesitation.

"Oh," said Glinda as she shifted the skirt of her dress to cover more of her legs.

"I'm nineteen," said the blonde absentmindedly as if her age didn't matter to anyone but herself.

The fact that Elphaba was a year older than her intimidated the young blonde. It was one year more of experience that Glinda didn't have that Elphaba did. It was one year of insight into this life that Glinda didn't have.

Feeling a bit annoyed that she was younger than Elphaba, Glinda frowned unconsciously and then she smiled when she remembered that with age came with the withering of beauty. With a glance at the green woman, Glinda realized that though her skin was stunning, her eyes were pretty enough and stared into the depths of your soul, and her hair was quite gorgeous and looked like waves of black silk, but there was nothing there to really look at besides those features.

As for Glinda, well, she was as perfect as Fiyero had told her she was back at Shiz. With a size four body, which was just skinny enough to make her curvy and yet slender at the same time, thin legs and arms, an ample chest that attracted all sorts of eyes, entrancing ice blue eyes, luscious red lips like the opening of a rose, and lustrous golden hair, Glinda had always been told that she was just perfect.

As for Elphaba, and Glinda looked at her with a critical eye, she looked more like a green stick. A too skinny green girl who lacked in any sort of chest or hips, with pretty enough hair and eyes but that was it. Glinda couldn't see, besides the exotic skin color, why anyone including her fiancé would fall for a girl like Elphaba?

Satisfied with her own critique of herself and of Elphaba, Glinda began to make conversation again figuring that she had nothing better to do until Fiyero opened the door in the morning.

"Mr. Boss told Fiyero and I that you ran away from whatever home you had, or that's what he suspected when he found you all those years ago… what really happened?" Skipping over the whole 'basic questions' Glinda wanted to get down to the real questions she had wanted to ask ever since she met the green woman.

She heard Elphaba take a slow breath, a sign of nerves perhaps, and when she let it out her eyes settled on Glinda's.

"Why do you want to know?"

The question caught Glinda off guard, but then again everything that the circus girl did caught the blonde off guard.

"I-I just thought I'd ask…" mumbled the blonde.

Her response was left in the air and Elphaba said nothing to it for a while.

"I don't think it's your place to ask that," Elphaba replied sharply afterwards.

Frustrated and more than annoyed, Glinda kept in a hiss. It wasn't fair that the one question Glinda wanted answered was the one that the green stick would clam up about!

"You seemed pretty cozy talking with Fiyero about all sorts of things though," jabbed the blonde with a mere smirk and a raised fair eyebrow.

The fire crackled drawing Glinda's attention for a few seconds and when she looked back at Elphaba she saw that her face was defensive.

"Fiyero's different," stated Elphaba flat out.

Uncurling her legs from underneath her, Glinda crossed her ankles daintily as she stretched her long, slender legs.

"Oh, how so?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Elphaba blushed and Glinda found herself infuriated. She was mad at Elphaba for being so smitten with Fiyero, and even madder at the fact that there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Well," started Elphaba as her brown eyes looked down at her boot covered feet, "He's kind and gentle, he seems like he actually cares about me, and he's not so… self absorbed as you are."

Those words cut into Glinda's heart like a knife. So she was more than smitten with Fiyero. In her mind, Glinda cursed the Unnamed God and whoever else was up there that was allowing this to happen.

"It seems Miss Elphaba," said Glinda curtly, "That those words could also be used to describe a lover… and not just a man you met a day ago."

"I guess so," mused Elphaba quietly as if she was pondering over the thought.

Glinda shot her a glare and then softened it once she remembered her goal of 'getting to know' the woman.

"What about me?" Glinda asked quietly. The words had meant to stay within her own head but her mouth had gone off and said them anyways without her brain's permission, "Why am I so different than Fiyero?"

Elphaba took a moment to answer, "Well I mean do I have to state the obvious? You're a woman and he's a man. Men are much more… kinder than women… or at least that's what I've experienced with Fiyero."

"So do you prefer the company of men over women?" asked Glinda as she bit at her nails. She soon realized that her question could be double-sided and she only hoped that Elphaba didn't pick up on it.

"In some cases yes. But in others, I prefer women," answered the green woman.

Glinda picked up on a hint of sorrow, of mystery in her voice. She was clearly holding something back from the blonde, and Glinda was determined to find out what she meant.

"Like what cases?" prompted Glinda, knowing that her question was rude and unkind but she felt compelled to ask anyways.

She glanced at the clock and found that it was now around two-thirty in the morning. She sighed, there were still many hours to go before Fiyero would be up and let them out.

"Just with other cases," snapped back Elphaba, her voice cold and mean.

Her voice made Glinda reel back in hurt. She gulped, wanting to ask why she was being so mysterious but decided against it.

Silence lingered in the air as neither of them spoke, each stirring in their own thoughts.

"I wish he hadn't locked us up," complained Glinda as she put up a hand and rested her chin on it while her elbow was on the edge of the chair.

"I actually don't mind it," remarked Elphaba who sounded quite peaceful, "I was locked up by myself a lot when I was in the circus so this is nothing for me."

Glinda made some sort of a face that Elphaba found amusing and Glinda was startled when she heard the green woman laugh at her.

"What is so funny?" she asked looking at Elphaba with narrowed eyes.

"Your face just reminded me of something…" she laughed again but did not continue with her sentence.

The blonde frowned and was annoyed that she was not in on the so-called funny memory that Elphaba had.

An unexpected roll of thunder roared through the night sky and vibrated throughout the castle, causing Glinda to nearly jump out of her chair in fright and Elphaba flinched slightly.

"Oh my Lurline!" exclaimed Glinda as she stared out the window and an eruption of rain, lighting, and winds along with the booming thunder all collided in the dark sky.

Elphaba peered over from her spot in the library and merely scoffed.

"At least we're inside and not out there," she said as the rain now pounded on the castle. But as Glinda looked at her, she did not miss that the green woman flinched at the sound of the rain and unconsciously rubbed her arms and drew her knees closer to her chest.

"Yes, but still. It's like the Unnamed God is releasing his or her fury on all of Oz," Glinda added, "If one believes in the Unnamed God…"

Her eyes looked to Elphaba to see if she would add her own two cents in about the topic, though Glinda didn't really want to talk about religion.

It's something to do; she reminded herself as she sat back down.

The storm raged on outside while they talked.

"My father was a minister," said Elphaba as a flash of lighting struck down, "We traveled all around Oz, my sister and I when he used to go preach to the villagers..." Elphaba was rambling on, Glinda hadn't figured that she was capable of letting such private information go to a complete stranger.

Suddenly something in Glinda's mind clicked as she replayed those words in her head again. She gasped when she realized the truth.

"Elphaba Thropp," she said more to herself than to Elphaba. She saw that the green girl perked up in her chair as she stared with narrow eyes at the blonde.

"Yes, that's my name," said Elphaba a bit sharply.

"And your father was a minister?" asked Glinda, "Was he a minister in Munchkinland and Quadling Country?"

"Yes, but Glinda I don't see what you're getting at-"

Glinda letting out a slight shriek as she shot up from her chair interrupted Elphaba's sentence.

"OH MY OZ! You're The Third Thropp Descendant! You're the eldest daughter that ran away!" Glinda exclaimed.

At that, Elphaba frowned deeply and looked at Glinda very harshly.

"How did you put that together? How do you even know about me?" pressed the green girl.

"So you are her! You are Elphaba Melena Thropp, aren't you?" gasped Glinda as she now marveled at Elphaba.

It was then that Elphaba sprang up from her chair, like a cat, and grabbed a hold of Glinda's wrists.

She leaned in towards Glinda; her face fiercer than the blonde had ever seen it. She almost looked angry, no she did look angry; furious was more like it.

At her touch, Glinda nearly jumped. Her hands were ice cold but even still Glinda didn't seem to care. It was more the thought that Elphaba had actually touched her that had frightened her a bit.

"You are never allowed to tell anyone that you know about me, do you understand?" hissed Elphaba, "I learned things in the circus and I am not afraid to rip your head off and kill you!"

Glinda's eyes searched Elphaba's for any sign of joking but there was none. She was beyond serious and that scared the blonde.

Gulping she nodded quickly.

"Not even Fiyero?" she squeaked out as Elphaba's grip on her wrists remained.

"No, not Fiyero," snapped Elphaba, her eyes flashing a bit.

Glinda smiled smugly at her and she straightened herself to her full height, "Why not? Do you think that you won't like you anymore if he finds out who you really are? Because trust me, dear I know him better than I do. He hates liars," threatened Glinda with a cruel smile.

"Then I can't possibly see why he still loves you," shot back Elphaba.

A frown appeared across the blonde woman's face and she felt hurt and rage begin to build up inside of her. Before Glinda knew what she was doing, her hand was already slapping Elphaba straight across the face.

The sound of the blow echoed loudly in the library and Elphaba let go of her grasp on Glinda's wrist in order to put her hands to her injured face.

As Elphaba back away to tend to her face, Glinda sat there with her arm still raised, her fingers trembling terribly at what she had just done. Her eyes filled up with unexpected tears while her lips quivered.

She watched wordlessly as Elphaba rubbed her cheek for a while and then shot her gaze to Glinda.

"I-I-I-I am sorry," stammered Glinda, "I didn't mean to-"

Her stomach churned as she saw that the skin where she had hit was a darker green than the rest of Elphaba's face.

Those brown eyes glinted as Elphaba thought of something. She straightened herself up in Glinda's witch costume and looked at the blonde fully in the eye.

A flash of lighting, oh the irony, snapped to the ground behind Elphaba as she strode over to the blonde.

"We're even now," said Elphaba sharply, "You don't tell Fiyero about who I really am and I won't tell him that you slapped me. Deal?"

Elphaba held out her hand and Glinda looked at it momentarily.

She hated the fact that it was Elphaba who had the leverage on her at the moment and that she didn't. She hated the fact that green woman was blackmailing her, though if it was reversed Glinda would have done the same thing. She reproachfully looked at Elphaba in the eye with the coldest look she could muster.

"Deal," she said as she shook the green woman's hand.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

Morning came even more slowly after that incident and both women couldn't wait until Fiyero woke up and would let them out of the library.

Rays of sunlight were breaking through the shades of the curtains that had been pulled by Glinda who had tried to get at least some sleep after the ordeal that had went down earlier. Elphaba on the other hand had sat in the chair all tense and fidgety for the rest of the early morning hours. Silence had filled the room ever since Glinda had slapped Elphaba and the air swirled around the tense atmosphere.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, both women heard the door unlock and saw Fiyero's bright face as he stepped inside the library.

"So? How did the grown up girl bonding time go?" he asked with a smile on his face which immediately disappeared as he saw either woman on a chair facing away from the other person.

Glinda woke up slowly once she heard his voice while Elphaba merely turned and looked at him.

"Fine," said Elphaba glancing at Glinda who was stretching her arms and yawning.

Those blue eyes of hers finally landed on Fiyero and when they did Glinda shot up from her curled up position in the chair and stood up. She hastily smoothed out her dress and hair.

"Darling!" exclaimed Glinda nervously and excitedly. She looked beyond him to where the door remained half opened and she was extremely relieved, "How did you sleep?" she inquired, wanting to keep the topic of what happened last night a secret.

"Fine, except for the rain," said Fiyero as he looked back and forth between the two women.

"How did you two sleep?" he asked after a moment. Brushing back the annoying strands of hair that kept flipping into his face, Fiyero looked expectantly at them, his brown eyes searching for an answer.

"Fine," said both women at the exact same time; which raised severe suspicions from Fiyero. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood heavily on one leg more than the other one.

"Really?" his tone was of disbelief.

"Yeah," said Elphaba as she straightened up in her chair, letting her legs dangle from the edge of the chair towards the floor.

It was then that the two women heard Fiyero gasp. He slowly walked over to Elphaba with his eyes narrowed at her face.

It was evident from his expression that he was staring at the bruise that had formed on the green woman's face. Glinda realized this before Elphaba did and she bit her lip hoping that Fiyero would pass it off as nothing.

"What happened to you?" he asked as he peered at Elphaba's face. Elphaba looked very uncomfortable like she wanted nothing more than to scurry away from him.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped at him and she pushed his hand away as he reached out to touch her face.

"Your face, it looks like you have a bruise," said Fiyero slowly as his eyes looked to the darker green spot on her face.

Elphaba looked to Glinda and Glinda stared back, terrified that she would expose what she had done last night to him right then and there. Bulging blue eyes stared into narrowed brown ones.

Glinda felt the world stop as she waited for what Elphaba was going to say. Her breath hitched in her chest and she felt like her lungs were slowly collapsing.

"Oh, that?" Elphaba laughed slightly, "It was from our pillow fight…."

She grabbed the plush pillow that was behind her back and held it in her hands for him to see.

"Oh," said Fiyero and he relaxed. Glinda relaxed as well, she breathed out a quiet sigh of relief because Fiyero had accepted the lie without question and Elphaba had not told him the truth.

"You two had a pillow fight?" he now looked to Glinda and that never failed to cause her nerves to escalate inside of her body.

She nodded quickly and made a small noise as if to say yes but it ended coming out as something like a tone downed squeal.

"Oh, all right then," Fiyero turned away from Glinda and focused his attention back to Elphaba.

"Did you two do anything else last night that I should know about?"

The question was not directed at Glinda. Fiyero didn't even look at the blonde.

"Even if we did, what makes you think that we're going to tell you," teased Elphaba with a smirk and a slight laugh.

They had a playful conversation for quite a few minutes, just between Elphaba and Fiyero. Glinda was not a part of it and she was getting quite irritated that Fiyero wasn't even talking to her.

"Fiyero" Glinda suddenly spoke out when Fiyero had brushed a lock of Elphaba's hair from her face that had been on her bruise and put it behind her ear gently. Glinda didn't want him to talk or be with her anymore, she didn't want those two to be alone together, "May I speak with you in our room?"

Fiyero looked slightly irritated after being torn away from his conversation with Elphaba but he sighed and obliged to Glinda's request.

With a smile and a slight roll of his eyes at Glinda's stern command Fiyero excused himself and Glinda from the library and headed back into their bedroom.

Glinda shut the door after Fiyero and herself had entered.

"Well that was quite rude, Glinda," stated Fiyero.

"Haven't we already established that to you and everyone else that everything I say is rude?" she half snapped at him. Her eyes shone brightly for a minute before dimming in exhaustion.

"Now darling," Glinda purred after a moment as she laced her hands on his chest from her place behind him, "Don't you want to see if I have any bruises on me from that pillow fight?"

Knowing exactly what she was getting at as she unbuttoned his shirt slowly, Fiyero sighed, "Not really."

Immediately those slender lady-like hands stopped what they were doing to his shirt and Fiyero could feel Glinda's body tense up.

"You don't want to make love to me?" her voice came out small, smaller than he had ever heard it, almost like a plea.

"Glinda, no that's not what I-" Fiyero turned around to face her and tried to explain to himself but Glinda wouldn't let him.

"You know we haven't had sex since she came here right? You've been too besotted with her and her weird skin color to even remember that I'm here! Do you even remember that I am your fiancée? I'm going to be your wife soon… and if you refuse to make love to me then what I am to you?" Glinda paused for breath as her eyes filled with tears at the mere thought, "I'd be your whore and don't you dare try to say that I wouldn't be. You wouldn't treat me as your wife by neglecting the night hour rituals, and I wouldn't be your girlfriend that you fooled around with occasionally."

Glinda's lips trembled as she waited for him to say something, anything to her.

"I'm sorry," Fiyero said gently as he took her hands in his but not before wiping away the tears that were falling from her eyes, "I do want to make love you, hell I want to spend the rest of my life making love to you. And you're right, you're my fiancée and I frankly have not been treating you like one." He smiled at her and winked, "So why do you say to spending a little more time in bed?"

Glinda smiled slowly and nodded and let him led her onto the bed. She fell on top of him, on purpose of course, and immediately pressed her lips to his while he undid the buttons of her dress slipping it and her undergarments off of her like a glove. Glinda's hands did the rest of the unbuttoning of Fiyero's shirt and threw it on the floor beside the bed. Next came Fiyero's pants and underwear that were thrown to the floor like his shirt.

Before they both even knew it they were making love. But it wasn't full of passion; it was almost robotic. It definitely was not what Glinda had wanted it to be. She knew that Elphaba was on Fiyero's mind even though he never said or whispered her name. Glinda could just tell. Though his kisses on her body were sweet and gentle they were nothing like Glinda knew what they could be like. His touches were loving but not passionate.

As Glinda pulled away from his lips she looked into his eyes. She could tell that his mind was somewhere else and her heart felt like it was splitting into pieces. But this time, this one time, Glinda did not say anything and continued to let him make love to her though she knew that he was imagining making love to Elphaba.

"She's not what you think she is, Fifi," said Glinda quietly after they were done. Fiyero's brow furrowed and then relaxed when he realized that they were now on the subject of Elphaba.

"Oh, why's that?" he asked as he switched positions on the bed to face Glinda. She laid there on her side, the sun hitting her naked body in a glorious and beautiful way. In that moment Fiyero was reminded of why he had and still to some extent loved Glinda. She was like an angel, a beautiful precious pure and innocent angel with glorious blonde waves for hair and her eyes that looked like they were taken from the sky on a clear day. Her body was perfect, slender but still lean enough to have hips and breasts.

Even still Elphaba made her way into his thoughts just like she had when he had sex with Glinda not too long ago. He couldn't help but wonder what it was like to touch that beautiful skin of hers, to taste those lips and to feel her body against his.

"She's just," Glinda's voice brought him out of his fantasy and back into reality, "not what she seems."

Her blue eyes stared at him, "I found out who she used to live with, before the circus," she said after a moment, "I was thinking about contacting them, maybe setting up a time and place so that we could bring her back."

Fiyero looked at Glinda, his eyes searching for any signs of lying but there was none.

"She told you and she didn't tell me?" He was hurt.

The blonde nodded, "Yes she did. But, um, don't tell her. It's going to be a surprise. They're gonna be really excited to see her and I want this to be a special parting gift for her."

Fiyero leaned on his elbow as he looked at Glinda. He ruffled her hair with one hand lovingly and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You really are too good, dear. I promise I won't mention a thing," said Fiyero as he redressed himself, casting a smile towards her, "I'll see you for breakfast in the kitchen." He left the bedroom with another parting smile and as soon as the door shut, Glinda climbed out of bed and put her clothes back on.

She went to her desk, took out a piece of parchment and a pen. In neat handwriting she wrote:

To: Frexspar The Godly, Thropp Residence Munchkinland.

I am writing to you to tell you news that impacts you. I have found your eldest daughter Elphaba and she has expressed wishes to return home to you and her family. Please do make the trip out to Kiamo Ko at your earliest convenience to discuss the details of her return.

My wife and I cannot wait to meet you,

And Glinda signed it as: Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

After Glinda had finished writing the letter, she dressed for breakfast in a pale green flowing dress and gave the letter in an envelope to a maid that she passed by on her way to the kitchen and told her to deliver it right away. The maid had questioned nothing and Glinda entered the kitchen without another thought in her mind about it.

"Well, well," piped up Glinda as she sat down on a chair next to Fiyero who had just recently been immersed in the day's newspaper. Glinda laced her fingers through his free hand lovingly and she pecked his cheek with a kiss, "What are we reading about today, darling?"

"The downfall of the economy, what else have we been reading about for the past few years…" said Fiyero grimly as he set down the newspaper and sipped on his hot coffee.

"I'm surprised the Wizard and his advisors have done nothing about it so far," remarked Glinda as she glanced at the headline, Desperation and Homelessness Verging On All Lands Of Oz.

"Our 'Glorious' Wizard," spat out Fiyero, "doesn't understand what the rest of Oz is going through and he doesn't want to. He's content with hiding behind the walls of his Palace and waiting this whole thing out and-"

"Darling," Glinda exclaimed, cutting him off mid sentence. Fiyero stopped talking and looked at her, still fuming.

His expression softened when he saw her pout, "That kind of talk is treason," Glinda reminded him, "Don't say such things, it's not needed. He'll set things right."

Fiyero looked like he wanted to add something to that comment but he refrained himself.

Swallowing down the rest of his coffee, Fiyero remained silent for a short period of time before Glinda piped up and asked him something.

"So what are we having for breakfast?"

Fiyero smiled at her, "I think Maybelle is cooking up some eggs and maybe bacon on the side."

They both stole a glance towards the female servant who was busy with the stove.

"I'd say more like burning it," whispered Glinda as the stench of burnt eggs and bacon made its way to her nose.

Fiyero and Glinda laughed heartily at that and smiled at each other. It was as if all the bad feelings and tensions that had been between them melted away after what had happened this morning.

"I love you," said Glinda impulsively as she remembered this morning and how Fiyero had looked at her before Elphaba had came into the picture.

Fiyero looked surprised to hear those words coming from her mouth so genuinely.

He blinked at her, "I love you too."

He watched wordlessly as she leaned forward to kiss him when they were suddenly interrupted by clonking footsteps.

Elphaba stood at the doorway between one of the living rooms and the kitchen.

"I didn't mean to intrude," her voice cut through the silent air.

The fiancés looked her way and immediately, though it was reluctant on Glinda's part, separated and smiled at her.

"Would you care for some breakfast, Elphaba?" asked Glinda as Maybelle set plates filled with the food she had cooked on the counter. Elphaba walked towards the food, sat on a stool, and picked up the burnt items of nourishment with distain.

"Not unless I want to eat char," she said as she put the food back down on its plate.

"I am sorry, Maybelle's cooking is not the greatest," apologized Glinda as she stared down at her own plate of blackened food. All hunger in her stomach disappeared immediately, "Darling," she said to Fiyero, "We should fire her for such bad cooking."

Her tone of voice sounded like she meant it and Elphaba looked quite baffled at the command.

"No, we won't," forced Fiyero as he subtly removed his hand from Glinda's and slid it so that it rested on his knee, "We'll just have to find someone else in our staff that can cook."

"In the circus if you didn't do something right, you were thrown off the train into a ditch or a nearby trench with the hopeful thought that you would die," piped up Elphaba, "Or you disappeared…"

Both Glinda and Fiyero paled considerably and stared at her with open mouths.

"What?" asked Fiyero after a few moments of being shocked.

"Two of my friends, Crope and Tibbett were thrown off the train after the boss caught them together… doing things," Elphaba slightly hesitated before continuing, "They were clowns both in and out of the big tent, it was only a matter of time before someone found out about them…"

"So your boss just threw them off the train?"

Even Glinda sounded shocked and horrified as she asked that question.

Elphaba nodded as she nibbled on what she could eat of the burnt breakfast.

"He had his henchmen do it, but yes that's what they did," answered Elphaba.

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

"Did-did he ever try and throw you off the train?" Glinda looked disturbed by the whole idea.

"He threatened me, oh yes he threatened me until his face turned blue but Mr. Boss never threw me off the train. He knew he'd never find another girl like me if he did. I was his main attraction and he knew it," said Elphaba nonchalantly.

"He's probably furious that we took you," added Fiyero. He played with the napkin that was placed in front of his, folding it over and over again in new patterns.

Elphaba smirked at that and gave them something that would be considered a dark laugh, "I bet he's checking every nook and cranny of that train carnage and beating up the person who was supposed to do rounds and making sure that everyone is in their place because he was supposed to be watching me."

"You're really that important to that circus?" Fiyero pressed, having not much knowledge of the circus and its ways.

"I'm their star, without me the Ozling Brother's Circus would just be like every other circus in Oz," answered Elphaba with a wry smile.

"If you were so important then why were you in a cage and not in a tent like the rest of the performers were?" There went Glinda's mouth again, always talking and never pausing beforehand to really think on what she was about to say.

"I was kept in there for my own protection. I didn't want to be around the rest of them. They didn't like me and I didn't like them."

"But you were the star," said Glinda. If she were the main attraction of anything she would demand to be in the most lavish styles of living and not in some cage.

"I'm also an abnormal freak of nature with my green skin," at that comment everyone in the room was reminded of Elphaba's unusual skin color. Even Glinda had, for a moment, forgotten that the girl was green. For that one moment, Fiyero and Glinda had seen her for what she truly was… a woman.

But as soon as they were reminded of it, the judgment of the skin color all came back.

After that statement had been made, Elphaba's skin seemed to glow brighter like it wanted the attention and the recognition from Fiyero and Glinda.

"So how are you finding things here at Kiamo Ko, Elphaba?" asked Fiyero desperately wanting to change the subject.

"It sure is big," said Elphaba as she sat in the chair angularly. Upon inspection and Glinda could inspect the girl in the morning light, she looked as though she was made up entirely of angles. The way her body was formed, it looked like pointed and blunt edges all around. Glinda self-consciously looked down at herself for just a moment during the conversation and was satisfied to find herself not at all angular or bony.

"The big top was not as grand as this place is though," continued Elphaba with a sweeping glance at the decorated and lavish walls of stone and the shiny trinkets all around.

"Thank you," said Glinda with a forced smile as she looked back up at Elphaba.

Maybelle cleared the plates off the counter though they had been nearly touched and she stole a glance at Elphaba.

"What was your favorite act, Miss Elphaba?" she asked to Elphaba as she began washing the dishes clean.

Glinda glared at Maybelle, "It seems that you are forgetting your place, Maybelle. Must I deduct from your salary for disobeying our rule of not conversing with any of our guests unless told so otherwise?" she hissed through her teeth.

Elphaba waved Glinda's threat away with a green hand, "Oh no, it's fine really. I really enjoyed Crope and Tibbett's act until they met their untimely end. And the flying monkeys were great before…"

But suddenly Elphaba stopped herself short.

She clamped those lips shut and twisted her hands around and around each other until they turned a dark green.

"Before," started Fiyero after an awkward few moments of silence had passed, "You said that people were thrown off the train or that they disappeared… what did you mean by 'disappeared' exactly?"

When she didn't answer Fiyero looked at curiously, "Elphaba?"

She held her breath for a long time before speaking again, and even Glinda and Maybelle were frozen in anticipation of what she was going to say.

"You people might think that the circus is a great place to live, and I'll admit at first it was better than where I was before but soon… soon it turned into a living nightmare. For every kid that dreams of running away to the circus, I wish I could tell them not to. Sure, it's heaven under the big top for a few hours a week but then heaven packs itself up and moves onto the next town. And," Elphaba paused and almost shuddered at a memory, "and what happens during that period of time where there is no big top… well," she looked at all of them with serious eyes, "it's almost hell itself…"

Everyone besides Elphaba pondered over that and were all about to speak and ask questions about what she meant when the green guest got up suddenly excusing herself with a mumble and retreating into her room.

She left them to conjure up in their own imaginations what horrors she spoke of for she would not speak another word about them.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

"I'll go talk with her," suggested Fiyero as he rose up from the table. Glinda stuck out a gentle hand to prevent him from moving.

"No," she said softly as she stood up as well, "I will. Please, I think it would be better if I talked with her."

Her blue eyes were still staring at where Elphaba had left.

Fiyero was more than surprised.

"Feeling compassionate today, are we Glin?" he asked of her strange willingness to be nice. Maybe it was because of the sex or maybe Glinda was really coming through, but of the two choices Fiyero guessed it was the sex that he and Glinda had had this morning that was affecting her mood.

"There was something deeper beneath that statement, wasn't there Fiyero?" Glinda asked softly.

For once in the blonde's life her heart strings felt like they were being tugged away and not because of betrayal or jealousy but because of human compassion.

"Yes, I believe there was," replied Fiyero as he looked at his fiancée. She seemed frozen, her eyes glued to where Elphaba had exited and Fiyero kept on wondering why.

"Are you alright?" he whispered in her ear. He was generally concerned, she sounded as if she knew of Elphaba's pain.

"I'm, I'm fine," but Glinda felt as if her mouth was dry. She walked slowly away from him and knocked on the door to Elphaba's room.

"Go away!" cried Elphaba from the other side.

"Please, it's just me… Glinda," said the blonde even though she knew that she was not exactly well liked by the circus woman.

"Leave me alone," insisted Elphaba and Glinda could hear footsteps on the other side getting closer to the door.

"Elphie, please? I just want to talk to you!"

That did it. Glinda suddenly found the door opening and the doorframe was filled with the figure of Elphaba.

"Did you just call me Elphie?" asked the green woman with her hands on her hips and her voice filled of disgust.

Glinda looked at her with big eyes, almost afraid of her. Elphaba's face was stern and her eyes were dark.

"Yes," squeaked out Glinda. She fiddled with her engagement ring, twirling the piece of gold with the diamond attached around and around her appropriate finger until she was sure that her finger would fall off, "Do you not like it? I thought it would be a good nickname for you."

Elphaba remained silent for a moment before she relaxed her stance and looked at Glinda with a smirk on her lips.

"If I have a nickname then what is yours going to be?"

Glinda beamed with happiness that she had accepted the nickname, though contrary to her previous feelings for the green woman, Glinda could not find a reason that she would care to admit as to why she was so happy that Elphaba could be called Elphie.

"Well I used to be called Galinda back when I was younger," said Glinda with a faint smile at the memories.

"Galinda," Elphaba tried it out on her tongue, "It suits you."

She opened the door a bit wider, allowing Glinda to enter.

"Why did you change it to Glinda?" she asked as she shut the door behind her and she sat down on the bed.

Glinda stood a few ways away from her but still in front of her.

"You're avoiding the reason why I came in here to talk," Glinda figured out and she called Elphaba out for it.

Elphaba put her chin in her hands and rested her elbows on her knee, "Am I? I didn't notice…"

"There's no reason to be rude about it," snapped the blonde and she saw the green woman raise an eyebrow.

"Says the woman who slapped me because I knocked her pride down a peg. I believe I can be rude to you if I want, Galinda," Elphaba used the nickname as mockery.

"Well, Elphie as a matter of fact I came in here to apologize!" the blonde shot back.

Those words shocked everybody in the room, including Glinda. She didn't know where that had came from and she didn't want to. No matter how hard she tried it seemed like what Mr. Boss and the Time Dragon Clock had predicted would come true.

"You want to… apologize… to me?" Elphaba's voice sounded small, "Nobody's ever apologized to me before."

Those words rebounded in Glinda's heart and she felt it break.

"Yes," she said softly, "I'm sorry for being so rude to you, truly and really I am. I promise to be civil to you and not so… bitchy."

Elphaba was silent for a while. She stared down with her eyes at her boot covered feet.

"So does this mean that we're kind of friends?"

Her question caught Glinda off guard.

The blonde slowly moved towards the bed where Elphaba sat. She hesitantly sat down on the soft comforter making an indent in the mattress next to the green woman. Unconsciously Glinda found her left hand reaching out and covering Elphaba's hand. At the contact the green woman looked directly at the blonde.

The silence between them seemed to be filled with unsaid words and feelings, things that neither woman could deny or suppress.

"You've never had friends, have you?" Glinda guessed softly. The green woman did not answer at first.

"No, I haven't," she said quietly. Elphaba slipped her hand from underneath Glinda's and placed it on her own upper leg as she sat on the bed.

"You know," said Glinda with a smile, "you don't really need friends when you can have diamonds."

On cue her diamond engagement ring sparkled in the light and Elphaba looked at the blonde with narrowed eyes.

"I'm only joking. Haven't you ever heard of the song, Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend?" Glinda asked as she thought of the last movie she had seen which had been a lovely piece entitled Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

"No, I'm sorry to say that I haven't," said Elphaba even though she did not sound sorry or intrigued.

"Well maybe I could teach it to you sometime," offered Glinda, "Since I'm going to be performing it as a solo piece for my dance company."

"Are you really?" Elphaba sounded a little bit interested than she had before, "Figures," she muttered softly afterward.

Glinda pretended not to hear that comment and pursed her lips.

"So, I heard that friends talk about pointless and random things like clothes and shoes," started Elphaba after a while of silence. She shifted on the bed and was about to continue when Glinda cut her off.

"Those are not pointless things," but even as she said it the words rebounded in her head and they even sounded silly in her head. A smile spread across Elphaba's face.

"Oh yes, I forgot that the Clothes and Shoe Queen of Oz might be offended by that comment," said Elphaba slyly and Glinda found herself laughing at that.

"Yes," laughed Glinda as she stuck up her nose in pretend distain, "She is very offended!"

Elphaba laughed at that and then quieted when she found Glinda staring at her.

"What?" she asked a bit nervously. She played with that gorgeous midnight black hair with her green hands and fingers.

As for Glinda she found that at first she couldn't answer her question. She knew the reason why she had been staring at Elphaba but she did not want to make that known to the green woman just yet.

She had found herself yearning to look at Elphaba. She found the woman entrancing and mysterious instead of annoying and a fiancé-stealer as she had before. Glinda didn't know what had changed her feelings towards the circus woman but Glinda knew that it had happened while she wasn't even looking. Maybe her 'Ice Queen' exterior and interior was melting at last or maybe she was finally learning the life lesson that the world did not revolve around her and her own little world. Either way there was one thing that Glinda knew for certain even though it was something that she was trying to deny.

She was ever so slowly falling in love with the green woman.

"The Clothes and Shoe Queen," she said after a few minutes of quiet, "is disgusted that you showed up into her court wearing that," Glinda's eyes went straight to the old witch's costume of hers that Elphaba was sporting, "It's entirely out of season, way out of season to be precise," added Glinda with a giggle, "And she demands that you rummage through her closet and find something more suitable to wear."

"Glinda, I don't think that's necessary-"

"Nonsense!" dismissed Glinda as she reached out and grabbed one of Elphaba's hands. The contact between the two women made them pause for a fraction of a second.

Glinda stood frozen on the floor with Elphaba's hand intertwined with her own. Elphaba sat on the bed looking at Glinda.

In Elphaba's eyes Glinda felt like she could see her soul. She felt like she could see the pain and the suffering that the young woman had gone through though she refused to speak nothing of it.

And just as quickly as it had happened, Elphaba's soul seemed to disappear for Glinda could not see it anymore.

"Come on," Glinda said in a very faint voice, "Let's go find something more appropriate for you to wear." She glanced at Elphaba and then found the green woman to be avoiding her eyes.

Glinda dismissed the feelings of affection that were brewing up inside her and instead focused on what she did have. She had a loving fiancé, a loving fiancé who was a man. The blonde had never 'experimented' like the other girls at Shiz had done. That had been for the girls of lower class to do, or at least Glinda had expected they had done things of that nature to each other. Glinda had never even kissed a girl before nor on accident or purpose and she hadn't planned to ever in her life. She had always loved and lusted over boys.

She could only wonder in fear why that was changing now.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

"I've already looked through your closet, Glinda I don't think that there is anything else in here that I would want to wear," stated Elphaba upon entering Glinda's closet once more.

"I'm sure I can find something," mused Glinda as one hand of hers slid across the various fabrics of her clothes that were hanging in her walk in closet.

"What's your favorite color?" asked the blonde as Elphaba stood awkwardly near the doorway of the closet.

"Black," answered Elphaba. She moved away from the doorway to see what items Glinda was searching through and trying to pick out for her.

The blonde woman pulled out a dark blue dress and looked at it critically.

"Can you pretend it's dark blue?" she asked of the green girl.

"Why?" asked Elphaba with narrowed eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the dress Glinda had pulled out.

"Because this would look pretty on you, but it's not black," explained Glinda as she took the dress off the hanger and held it up to Elphaba's frame, "You should at least try it on."

Elphaba looked down at the witch's costume she was wearing and finally realized that the real world was not like the circus. You could not wear costumes and expect people to take you seriously whether you wanted to be taken seriously or not.

"Fine," she huffed as she snatched the dress from Glinda. She started to undo the buttons in the back of the witch's costume and then she quickly slipped on the blue dress while Glinda had her back turned.

"You can turn around now," said Elphaba as she finished smoothing out the dress and made sure it wasn't riding up in any places on her body, "Does this better suit the Queen of Shoes and Clothes' taste?"

Glinda turned around and looked at the green woman, half expecting to have to lie to the woman about how she looked. Turns out, Glinda was pleasantly surprised at how Elphaba looked in that dress.

It formed to her thin body perfectly and even gave her the appearance that she actually had some sort of a chest. The color of the dress blended well with the green of her skin, something that either girl had been expecting and it looked better on her than it had on Glinda.

"Well," said Elphaba as a conversation starter. She felt Glinda's eyes on her again and Elphaba knew she should be used to this. She had been stared at for most of her life with horrified and disapproving looks from strangers and other people but never like how Glinda was staring at her.

The stare was almost filled with curiosity and interest, full of intrigue and mystery and Elphaba was not sure what to feel about it.

She fiddled with the dress as Glinda stared at her with those big blue eyes.

As for Glinda she felt something she had never felt before. Her heart seemed to be floating inside of her chest. It pulsed with the strangest feeling running through it. Curiosity was not a strong enough word to describe it and neither was intrigue. It was almost a longing that was developing and the blonde could no longer fight it or deny it. Her true feelings for the green woman were finally emerging after many attempts to dismiss, ignore, and do away with them ever since she saw her.

"You look beautiful," said Glinda softly as she took in how Elphaba looked. Elphaba smiled at her hesitantly.

Not even thinking about what she was doing, Glinda took a few steps forward until she was mere inches away from the green woman.

Thinking about what she had missed out at Shiz by not experimenting and how Fiyero had ignored her for the past day, the next thing that Glinda did was not surprising to herself at all. It was, though, a complete surprise to Elphaba.

As if her mind was separated from her body, Glinda thought nothing of pressing her lips onto Elphaba's until afterwards. But for those few precious seconds that she had not spent thinking and had relished in the taste of Elphaba's lips Glinda felt better than she ever had before. She felt complete and not broken like Fiyero had recently taken up into making her feel.

Elphaba on the other hand was more than surprised to find the blonde's lips pressed against her own. She knew it was not customary or approved of for two women to be kissing but she did not want to break the contact between them. She felt that she had caused more problems for Glinda and Fiyero than anyone had ever expected and she didn't want to cause anymore. So she let Glinda kiss her until the blonde's senses kicked in and she broke away from the green woman's mouth.

After her lips had left Elphaba's Glinda found that she could not look at her guest.

"I don't understand myself sometimes," the blonde whispered as tears grew in her eyes.

Elphaba looked at her, realizing for the first time that the bubble headed bitch did actually have feelings.

"I don't understand why I'm…. I mean why you?" the blonde looked quite angrily at Elphaba for a moment before her anger disappeared and was replaced by confusion and upset.

"I ask myself that all the time. Why me?" said Elphaba dryly. She had meant it to be a joke but she could tell shortly afterwards that the blonde woman was not getting her humor at a time like this.

"I've never done anything like that before," confessed Glinda as she collapsed onto her red plush stool.

"It's alright. I promise I won't tell. This will be our little secret," comforted Elphaba as she reached out and covered one of Glinda's hands with her own, "That's what friends are for, aren't they?"

Glinda looked like she was about to dissolve into tears.

"But-but-" she tried to get out.

"But what?" asked Elphaba gently. She had to admit, though, that this was one of the most strangest and bizarre things she had ever experienced in her life and that was saying something. She didn't know whether she was supposed to feel sorry for the blonde woman or shocked that she had kissed her. Elphaba knew one thing was for sure. She would never tell anyone about that kiss for it had been her first kiss ever… and the even worse fact that she had actually enjoyed it.

"But-what if I don't want this to be just a one time thing?" Elphaba could barely make out what she was saying through the sniffles and the sobs but she had gotten the gist of it.

As the guest, and though Elphaba did not know much about the world but she knew about getting in the way of marriages and relationships very well, she felt it was her responsibility to remind Glinda of who she was.

"Glinda, you're going to marry Fiyero," said Elphaba in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"I know that!" snapped the blonde as she uncovered her face from its earlier position behind her hands, "I'm not stupid!"

"Okay," Elphaba decided to back off her direct approach, "Alright, let me ask this. Why did you kiss me?"

Silence lingered in the air as Glinda buried her face into her hands, her golden hair covering her complexion.

"I don't know," was the muffled response that Elphaba got.

The green woman couldn't help but laugh slightly. It was the sight of Glinda bent over with her head in her hands, looking like a golden monster of some sorts that was making her laugh.

"Are you laughing at me, Elphie?" came Glinda's question. Her voice was small and child-like.

"No," said Elphaba seriously, "I'm laughing at how you look. You look quite hideous with your hair as your head…"

Immediately the blonde woman raised her and presented to Elphaba blurry eyes filled with tears that were also streaming down her face with trembling lips.

"I don't want to look hideous," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair in a pathetic attempt to try and make herself look good at a time like this. She also tried to dry the tears that were falling from her eyes but that was to no avail.

"Then let's dry those tears," said Elphaba revealing some long lost and buried compassion and tender feelings that she hadn't used since she had ran away from her home all those years ago.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" sniffled Glinda and she looked up at Elphaba with wide childlike eyes, "I've been nothing but a bitch to you ever since I met you and you are acting as if I have done nothing to you."

Elphaba remained silent for a while and wiped away Glinda's tears even though it burned her skin.

"Elphie, no," Glinda tried to protest and she managed to gently move Elphaba's hands away from her face, "You'll hurt yourself."

"I believe," said Elphaba after a long period of silence, "that people deserve a second chance. So this is your second chance Glinda, don't mess it up."

She turned and it dawned on Glinda shortly afterwards that she was planning to leave the room.

"Do you believe that of all people?" she asked quickly, trying to get the green girl to stay just a few more seconds.

Elphaba faced her, having only got a few paces away from the blonde who was still sitting on the red stool.

"Almost everybody," she whispered.

Glinda saw that pain and suffering in her eyes appear once more and the blonde knew that she was hiding deep dark secrets from her. But now Glinda wanted to discover what those secrets were. She didn't want to pretend like they didn't exist.

"What about yourself?" the blonde managed to get out through her faint voice.

Elphaba looked downcast at her feet.

"I've never been given a second chance so I've grown up and accepted the fact that I'm probably not meant to get one."

Glinda's head tilted to one side and she looked at Elphaba with the most sympathetic expression on her face that Elphaba thought she might burst into tears.

"What if I was to give you a second chance?" she asked so softly that Elphaba almost didn't catch it.

She remained silent and stoic for the longest time.

"That would be different then," the words barely escaped Elphaba's lips.

A smile grew over Glinda's face; a true smile and she forced herself to stand up. She walked over to Elphaba like she was a hunter and Elphaba was the prey, slowly and steadily.

She reached out a pale hand and touched Elphaba's forearm lightly. To Glinda the contact was a huge first step and she felt relief that she hadn't been rejected yet. To Elphaba it was a bizarre feeling, one filled with mixed feelings. She didn't know if she was ready for this yet. She didn't know if she was ready for both Glinda and Fiyero to express feelings for her at the same time.

Apprehension filled the green woman as her gaze dropped to where the pale hand was placed on her skin.

"Glinda I don't think-" was all she got out before Glinda took another step forward closer and shushed her.

"Don't think, not now. This is something new for both of us but it's also a chance to start over… This will be our little secret," whispered the blonde as she casted a small hesitant smile at the green woman.

But starting over with such a secret between them was not going to be easy.

"I don't…. I just don't know," said Elphaba and she walked away and out of the closet, leaving the blonde in there alone with hurt and confusion written plainly on her face as the first woman she had ever kissed walked away from her.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

"Oh, Elphaba I was just looking for you!" said Fiyero with a grin as he accidentally bumped into the green guest in one of the corridors of the castle.

"Hello Fiyero," said Elphaba softly. Fiyero noticed as she looked away from him and played with her hair that she seemed very distracted and not herself. She attempted to move past him but Fiyero stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.

"Hey," he said quietly, "Are you okay?"

Elphaba looked at his hand on her arm and immediately thought of Glinda's hand on her arm. She bit her lip tenderly.

She didn't want to be in this situation. She didn't want to be caught in the middle of this. She didn't know if she wanted both Glinda and Fiyero to have feelings for her.

"I have to leave here," she said firmly, "I can't stay here anymore."

Fiyero looked baffled and he tightened his grip on her just a smidgen.

"Leaving?" he repeated confusion in all of his features, "Why? Why? Was it because of something I did- is this Glinda's fault because I promise if it is I will straighten her out and-"

"Fiyero no, it's not Glinda's fault. It's not your fault either… I just don't think I'm meant to be in society. I think I belong with the circus…." She trailed off for in her mind and heart she knew that she did not want to go back to the circus at any costs. But she could not ruin yet another relationship, not again.

"I'm sorry," said Elphaba as Fiyero's grip on her arm loosen from shock, "You've both been too generous with your hospitality and I thank you for that but-"

"If you really thought that way about yourself then you wouldn't have let me take you away from there," stated Fiyero.

Those words had made Elphaba falter because they were true. He had said the truth with no sugar coating or lies.

"I just don't think I belong here with you and Glinda," she said with some difficultly, "So if you please, Mr. Tiggular let me pass."

"You've never called me that before and don't start now, Elphaba," said Fiyero, as he got closer to her. His hot breath was felt on her skin and his eyes bore into her soul, if she even had one.

Elphaba was stuck and she and Fiyero both knew it.

"You don't want to go back there and we all know it," he whispered as he linked his hand through hers, "so just get those thoughts of you leaving out of your head because you know you don't want to leave."

Elphaba found that she could not look at him even though he was staring quite intently at her.

"I've already created tensions between you and Glinda I don't want to cause any more," snapped Elphaba. Her eyes drifted to where his hand interlocked with hers and a warm feeling spread within her. It was something like love and hastily Elphaba dismissed it and thought nothing more of it. For one who had never experienced real and true love she wasn't about to start now. Instinctively she tore her hand away from his grasp, causing him to look at her with confusion.

In turn, Fiyero stared at her for a long time while she stared back before he moved towards her.

"I don't think you've created tensions," he said finally, "I think you've opened up our eyes." His eyes shone with some unseen plan that he had just came up with.

She pondered on his words and was therefore more than surprised when she felt that the prince had caught her lips in his. It lasted but a minute but it was enough time for Elphaba to fully realize what was happening and to push his strong muscular body away from her before anything else happened.

"Are you crazy, Fiyero? Have you lost your mind? You're engaged to Glinda!" she scolded him with stern eyes. She backed a few paces away from him and in that moment was going to tell him about what Glinda had done to her, that his fiancée had just done the same thing that Fiyero had done, but she decided not to at the last second.

Fiyero stood in front of her with his face filled with confusion and pangs of hurt.

It was then, in that moment when they were both quiet and staring at each other that Fiyero seemed to think on his morals and his duties as a prince. The excitement about trying to get Elphaba to stay with him by kissing her faded from his eyes.

"I'm-I-," he stammered at last when she said nothing to him. He seemed to be trying to think of words to say to her that would apologize for his brash actions. He looked at her and straightened his posture, feeling as though he should be the one correcting this situation since he had been the one to start it.

"I'm sorry," he said softly as if those words were sacred to her and himself, "I was out of line. I promise nothing like that will ever happen again."

Elphaba didn't know what to say. She didn't even know if she had any words for this strange relationship that was going on between Fiyero and Glinda and herself. It was as if Glinda and Fiyero knew about it and Elphaba did not know.

"It's just that," Fiyero didn't want the silence to continue any longer between himself and Elphaba so he filled it with his own voice, "you're unlike any other girl I've ever met and I just- I just… meeting you was the first thing in my life that made me question who I was and what I wanted to do with my life. Meeting you made me feel like I had a purpose like I was destined to do something with you," said Fiyero finally. His eyes bore into hers though she kept trying not to look at him, "But I am sorry if it makes you uncomfortable or if you do not approve. I just thought we should get it out in the open now rather than later." He blushed and half smiled at his feet muttering more to himself than to her, "But this wasn't how I wanted to tell you of my feelings…"

"Fiyero," Elphaba's voice cut him off from his mutterings. It sounded hollow and more distant than usual so he looked up with concern at her.

"Yes?"

Elphaba was hesitant on her wording, "Do you- did you really mean what you said? That I changed the way you want to live?"

"Absolutely, yes I meant every word," swore Fiyero and he really did mean it. The happiness in his features returned for a brief moment and then fled when he asked, "Why are you asking?"

"Because I don't understand how someone could do that, how you could even say that I changed the way you want to live for the better. I am a nobody; a circus freak as Glinda called me. How in Oz could I change your mindset by one look?" Elphaba asked. She had never had anyone be as nice as Fiyero had been to her and the actions frightened her a bit. She had been told since birth that no one would ever love a green freak like her and now she had two people who had kissed her in one day and expressed feelings for her. It seemed to be almost too much for the green woman.

"You're different. I've never met anyone like you before. And I want to spend the rest of my life figuring you out…" Fiyero smiled at her charmingly.

"Well, too bad you never will… I'm leaving," Elphaba said decisively. Her actions had been brought upon her tough living life style in Quadling Country. She had learned at a young age not to get too close to people for in the end all you do is lose them, and she was applying that logic here.

She whirled around on her heel and brushed past him. Not knowing the corridors well enough she ended up in kitchen instead of the hallway to her bedroom and found Glinda sitting on one of the stools with a lit cigarette in one hand. The smoke from the cigarette slowly swirled around the room and finally to Elphaba's nose which wrinkled in disgust having smelled too much of it before when she had been living at the circus. With Fiyero right behind Elphaba Glinda turned at the multitude of footsteps, cigarette at her lips and looked bug eyed at the two of them.

"Fiyero, Elphaba," she said nervously as she extinguished the cigarette quickly and threw it away, "What's going on?"

"She's leaving," stated Fiyero as he looked at Elphaba's still form. She had stopped her walking and was frozen in the middle of the kitchen.

"I'm not leaving," said Elphaba in a bit of a fierce voice, "I just- I just need to think… Do either of you know what you both have put me through today? You two are just as bad as my parents were and that relationship was a complete train wreck! This is just too much for me and I just need to get out of here for a while, alright?"

Both Glinda and Fiyero looked at her with concern and compassion. It was the blonde who spoke first, "I think that would be alright. I mean it is with me, but I don't know about Fiyero…" She trailed off and left Fiyero to answer for himself.

"I'd be alright with that, but as long as you came back…"

Elphaba bit her lip as she considered that.

"You won't, you won't run off to the circus again would you?" interjected Glinda softly, "Because we would hate to be the reason for you to go back there…"

"No, I won't. I don't think I ever will go back," said Elphaba solemnly as she thought of the horrors she had endured there and how she never wanted to go through that again.

"But you two seriously have to straighten out your relationship before I make any plans to stay under the same roof as you," commanded Elphaba sternly as she looked back and forth between the woman and the man, "You guys are worse than my parents were. Think about what you've both done today, you did things that were a spur of the moment decisions that if I had taken the wrong way could have ended your chance of happiness!" Elphaba paused and showed the first sign of human emotion that Glinda and Fiyero had ever seen in her eyes. It was of hurt and real pain, like she was remembering something horrid that had happened in her past.

"Do you understand that what you guys both did to me could have caused your lives to end in utter misery or even worse?" scolded Elphaba passionately, "You could end up dead!" Her eyes burned and flashed with some unseen memory that only she recalled and in that moment sparks sputtered and flickered out of her hands.

"Elphie, you're trembling," noticed Glinda and she took a slight step towards her to comfort the frazzled green woman. The sparks coming from her hands suddenly caught her eye and Glinda stopped dead in her tracks.

"What in Oz?" whispered the blonde as the sparks from Elphaba's palms radiated out into the air.

Fiyero soon caught on and he wordlessly along with Glinda watched as the sparks turned green.

In a flash all the lights in the castle burned out, the huge doors to the front exit swung open by themselves, and the sparks from Elphaba's hands suddenly vanished.

The residence and its occupants were left in darkness and stunned silence as they looked at their guest with new eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen:

Before Glinda nor Fiyero could utter out anything else to Elphaba the green woman ran out of the castle and into the woods without any explanation as to what the green sparks radiating from her palms had been. The blonde looked at the prince and vice versa.

"What did you do to her?" they both shouted at one another at the same time.

"Me?" asked Glinda taking a step away from Fiyero and putting a hand over her heart like she was the victim in this situation, "I did nothing."

Fiyero looked away from her, "Well neither did I," he said with his arms folded across his chest.

They mulled over their actions in the stirring silence without looking at each other.

"We must have done something to cause her to literally run away from us," mused Glinda softly as her eyes glanced to Fiyero's face.

That soft skin of his shone in the sunlight as she looked at him and Glinda couldn't help but feel immensely guilty of what had taken place with Elphaba in her huge walk in closet. She had let her emotions and undetermined and unrealized feelings get in the way of her better judgment. She knew better than to kiss a woman. She had been taught that things such as that were forbidden and yet… she had seen so many women do it in secret at Shiz that she felt she had to partake in one spontaneous act of that matter for once in her life. It was too bad she obviously chose the wrong time to do so.

She kept her gaze on Fiyero and thought of him for a moment. She had been quite cruel and cold towards him ever since they had graduated. She wasn't the giddy carefree girl that he had known at Shiz. Somehow marriage seemed to snap that out of her and dance classes enforced discipline and a cold demeanor.

But now more than ever what Glinda wanted to be was his. She wanted to be Fiyero's and no one else's… It had just been a stupid mistake, a stupid decision on Glinda's part, to kiss Elphaba and she swore to herself that she would never do that again.

"Fiyero… I-I have to tell you something," Glinda said in a faint voice as his eyes finally connected with hers.

While Glinda had been thinking of her wrongdoing, Fiyero had been too. He as well was feeling guilty and wanted to tell Glinda what he had done.

"Me too," he said quickly wanting to tell her what he had done before she told him.

But they both waited too long for the other's response and they ended up speaking at the same time.

"Fiyero, I kissed Elphie," said Glinda.

"Glinda, I kissed Elphaba," said Fiyero.

Once the words that had been spoken by both of them had sunk into the other's brain they looked at each other in shock.

"You-you kissed Elphaba?" sputtered out Fiyero suddenly feeling like he didn't even know the woman who stood before him.

"You kissed her too?" asked Glinda with a confused look in her eyes.

They both looked at each other with open mouths before they started a verbal attack.

"How could you do this to me? I thought you hated her and I mean I know I said to have some grown up girl bonding time but I didn't mean that kind of grown up girl bonding time!" scolded Fiyero in disgust as he pictured the kiss in his head and he found himself growing enraged that Glinda had kissed Elphaba before he did.

"Fiyero I didn't mean it! I just- I just- I don't know… it meant nothing," Glinda tried to explain her feelings that had led to the kiss between her and Elphaba but Fiyero would have none of it.

"Nothing? You-you kissed her!" Fiyero snapped back at her.

"So did you!" retorted Glinda in a low growl with such fierceness that it stunned the prince for a minute. The silence that came after the accusations and the truths of what they had both did was ringing in their ears.

They were both glaring at each other intently for what seemed like forever. Glinda's blue eyes pierced Fiyero's brown eyes like frozen crystals of water. They were beyond stuck as to how to move forward with this new information.

"So…" Glinda paused, "What do we do now about all this?" Her stance relaxed which was different from what it previously had been. Fiyero's shoulders slumped in defeat as he realized that arguing was pointless. It was going to get them nowhere and if it continued then they were going to hate each other for the rest of their lives.

"We have to forgive each other, so I forgive you," he said at last, "Even though I don't understand why you did it, I still forgive you."

Glinda kept her gaze on him. Her heart fluttered slightly inside of her chest as she remembered the contact she had shared between herself and Elphaba.

"Is it bad if I say that I don't know why I did it?" asked the blonde timidly.

Fiyero's eyes turned hard as they scrutinized her.

"Just as long as you don't do it again," he threatened in a low voice, "We have a reputation to uphold as members of the Tiggular family. You have to promise that you won't do anything like that with her again."

"And what about you?" Glinda's voice was frayed and razor sharp at the same time, "Can you promise me that you won't do anything with her that's deemed inappropriate and improper?"

Her eyes flashed in anger as her hands settled on her slim waist. He hesitated for a second and it did not go unnoticed by the blonde.

"You never answered my question!" shot back Fiyero in a childish manner.

Glinda fumbled to find the words to create a response; "Well I- well you've never been faithful to me!" she ended up blurting out. The anger of her face consumed and distorted her pretty features. Her hands curled into fists of rage.

Fiyero was taken back by the accusation for he hadn't known that Glinda had been aware of those other women that he had been with while he had officially been with her at Shiz. He had thought that that time and any relationships that had came with it at the time, other than with Glinda, had been buried when they had graduated from Shiz.

"Those flings stopped a long time ago, Glinda. I'm not the scandalicious prince you once knew," Fiyero's voice was even and level, "And may I remind you that you have not always been faithful to me either," added Fiyero quietly.

Those words whipped around her ears and reminded Glinda of those unimportant men whom she had fooled around with on occasion at Shiz and some in the past few months.

"That was different," she growled.

Fiyero's face slacked and he rolled his eyes at her inability to see that it was not different.

"Oh, yes I suppose it was! Those times it was with men and this time it was with a woman! Oh yes the similarities are overwhelming, Glinda! But let's not forget the fact that cheating is cheating…"

"Oh please!" nearly shrieked Glinda as she huffed, "You think I'm going to listen to you heckle me for cheating when your nickname throughout high school and college was Winking Winkie Prince Tiggular!"

"Yes you will because I am not that guy anymore! Can't you see that I've changed?" implored Fiyero.

With tears brimming in her eyes Glinda could only stare at him.

"Have you?" she asked watery, "Have you really? Because you kissing Elphaba when you're engaged to me is sounding like you haven't changed at all in my opinion."

A beat of silence stopped Fiyero from saying what he had planned.

"And what about you? You've changed, definitely. You're playing for the other team now, aren't you?" Fiyero's tone of voice seemed to mock the blonde girl and his words were cruel, "How funny is that, that a perfect popular flirtatious girl like you suddenly switches sides and doesn't even have the courtesy to tell anyone, including her fiancé!"

"No, it's not like that!" Tears started to roll down the blonde's porcelain face and she felt her body tremble with sobs that were about to erupt.

"No, no Glin I don't want to hear it! You know what?" he shouted and then laughed as his eyes met the ceiling and then returned to Glinda's face, "I'm done. I'm done with you and your need to be perfect and your constant bitchiness. We're through, Glinda."

His words shattered her heart into a thousands pieces and more consistent tears streamed down her face from her ocean blue eyes.

"W-w-what?" her voice cracked in heartbreak.

"We're over," said Fiyero in a tone that was harsher than in the voice that he had told any other girl those words.

Glinda cried out and covered her mouth with a trembling hand while the other was wrapped around her waist as if to keep her upright.

"You can't mean this, you just can't! Don't you love me?" she begged and sobbed hysterically as her blue eyes bored into his.

"Not anymore," said Fiyero coldly.

Sobs could be heard behind her hand and for a split second Fiyero felt pity on her. Then he remembered everything that Glinda put him through and the pity vanished.

"I'm going to go find Elphaba. You can stay here and wait till I come home. If you're not out by tomorrow morning I will get rid of your stuff for you and force you out myself," he said as he took off his wedding ring as he parted and let it fall to the floor.

He looked back only once and he saw before him a broken soul, the soul of the one girl that he truly had once loved. But his heart reminded him that she was not that girl anymore and he pressed forward and left the castle to start his search for Elphaba.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen:

Fiyero took off away from the castle and the woman he had left behind in it in search of the green woman that he had only known for two days now. It was simply crazy, these feelings for a woman he had just met that he was having but it was impossibly real and happening. Fiyero couldn't explain what attracted him to Elphaba but all he knew was that if she left a part of his heart would be missing with her.

His heart went off on a rampage of flutters every time he looked at her, every time he even thought of her or spoke her name. She had consumed his thoughts, this mystical emerald human being. She had consumed him so much that he had just ended his relationship with Glinda.

Upon remembering that fact Fiyero stopped dead in his tracks along the dirt pathway to the village. A pang of heartache began to develop in him. He realized that his actions had been too rash, too filled with anger and not enough perception to whole-heartedly end his engagement to Glinda.

"Lurline what have I done?" he asked himself as he remembered the wretched look on Glinda's face and he knew that he had split her heart into two.

Looking back at Kiamo Ko in the distance Fiyero felt obliged to run back and apologize to Glinda though he knew that she would, or at least he hoped, take him back in an instance. He felt horrible for breaking her heart and soul like that. He had just been too angry with himself and with her for letting Elphaba ruin what they had once had. Though in hindsight Fiyero knew that it had been more on his part that he had let Elphaba ruin the relationship he had with Glinda.

It hurt him to know that he had officially ended it with Glinda but he promised himself that as soon as he found Elphaba he would return and somehow make it up to the blonde.

"Prince Fiyero," a voice calling out to him pulled Fiyero away from his thoughts.

The prince looked around for the source of the voice and found it in his friend and most loyal military commander Traper Cherrystone.

"Cherrystone, how good it is to see you!" said Fiyero friendly as he walked over to his friend and clapped him on the back.

"And you, Fiyero," Cherrystone soon dropped the title of his friend. He smiled at Fiyero and the prince smiled just as politely back.

"How are things with you and Glinda?" asked Cherrystone a thin grin slithering up on his youthful face as he ran a hand through his golden brown hair. His electric blue eyes seared into Fiyero's.

"Um, well to tell you the truth, thing aren't going well at all. But I'm sure it's just a rough patch. We'll get through it one way or another," said Fiyero honestly. Fiyero found that he could never lie to his friend, though on occasion Cherrystone had been known to lie to him about many things.

"So what brings you out and about? Are you on outing with Glinda or are you here for business?" prompted Cherrystone. He seemed genuinely curious as to why the prince was out of his castle.

"Neither actually. I just decided to go for a stroll by myself."

"Well you should go check out the Ozling Brother's Circus. My men and I went there last night to see their show down at the Vinkus Square and it was really something else," suggested Cherrystone.

"Oh was it?" asked Fiyero keeping his tone light and pleasant, "What kind of acts did they have?"

"They had these clowns in antique cars racing each other, trapeze artists, but sadly their main attraction was missing."

"Really?" Fiyero tried to sound like he was surprised but he failed miserably.

"Yeah some green skinned girl they claimed to have. She supposedly had an allergy to water, burned her skin or something. I would have liked to see that but I guess we'll never find out right Fiyero?" Cherrystone laughed lightly and Fiyero joined in a bit forcefully and a little too late.

"Yeah, you're right," Fiyero said hastily a thought running through his head that he had to act on, "Hey listen I've got to get going but feel free to stop by anytime!"

He waved goodbye to Cherrystone who looked at him with a confused face for a bit before he waved back and took off on his own.

The prince smirked as the hunch in his mind was turning more and more probable and Fiyero suddenly knew where he would find Elphaba.

Elphaba crouched low to the ground in Glinda's dark blue dress amongst the crowd of the circus goers and the performers. She had but a few minutes to put her plan into motion before someone caught on while she was still here. Elphaba knew she had to do this quickly. As the crowds of people slowly moved into the big top Elphaba sprinted from one spot to the next, closer and closer to Mr. Boss's trailer.

The object of her desire would hopefully fix this whole mess between Glinda, Fiyero and herself before things went too far.

Elphaba briefly remembered that she had left Glinda and Fiyero alone back at Kiamo Ko and she hoped that they had patched things up but her heart said that was not likely.

Knowing that Mr. Boss would be in the big top by now, Elphaba quickly and quietly unlocked the door to Mr. Boss's trailer and went inside with one last look around to make sure no one was watching her.

The area looked deserted as far as she could tell, with everyone inside the big top, and Elphaba slipped inside and shut the door behind her.

Her eyes franticly searched for the object she needed through the mess that Mr. Boss's trailer consisted of.

Finally she found it and Elphaba quickly snatched up the big brown leather book that she had wanted all along. Keeping it close to her chest with her arms wrapped around the book, Elphaba slowly and stealthily removed herself from the trailer and outside into the circus area.

She checked her surroundings more than once as she kept her head down and made her way through the empty area to get to the woods where she knew she would be safe. Suddenly she noticed a figure behind her and whirled around to face and soon after run from whoever it was.

"Elphaba thank Oz I-" Fiyero's voice was suddenly cut off when a green hand shot out and covered his mouth.

"Fiyero, what in Lurline's name are you doing here?" hissed out Elphaba with her eyes wide and angry, "You're going to ruin everything!"

A few voices were heard in the distance and Elphaba looked around.

"Oh no, they've found me," she was speaking about the several men with pipes in their hands that were pointing to where Fiyero and Elphaba were standing.

"Who are they?" asked Fiyero his brow furrowing as he looked at the men.

Elphaba quickly grabbed his hand and started run towards the woods with him following behind her, "No time to explain, just run!"

Fiyero and Elphaba bolted into the woods and soon lost the circus men that had been trailing them. They didn't stop running until they came to the pathway that led to Kiamo Ko.

Once they reached the path Elphaba and Fiyero stopped running abruptly.

"What was that all about?" asked Fiyero wheezing a bit as he held his aching side, "What's that book you've got there?"

"Never you mind about the book and what I do is none of your business," snapped back Elphaba harshly as she held onto the book tighter.

"All right, alright no need to bite my head off," said Fiyero as he straightened up and looked at Elphaba.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat and her stance relaxed. She looked out into the setting sun with a gaze that was slightly unfocused.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just didn't expect you to follow me," she casted a sideway glance at Fiyero, "Why did you follow me?"

"I-I had a falling out with Glinda after you left us and I just came to find you… I needed to think," stammered the prince.

"And what were you planning to say or do once you found me?" Elphaba's question echoed in his mind and Fiyero found that he had no exact answer to give her.

"I don't know," he answered hollowly. He looked away from her and towards Kiamo Ko, "You were planning to come back, right Elphaba?"

His question faded away into the air and silence took its' place as Elphaba did not answer him straight away.

"I was. But I had hoped not to use this when I did," she gestured towards the book and Fiyero looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" he asked as she took off towards the castle at brisk pace and he followed.

"What I mean is that you said you had a falling out with Glinda and this book can help with your problems," she said without looking at him.

"Well what kind of book is it?" asked Fiyero cautiously as he put a hand on Elphaba's forearm to stop her from bolting ahead of him. She stopped walking and turned to him.

"It's a spell book called The Grimmerie," she said softly.

"And I'm guessing since we nearly got chased that you really weren't supposed to take it from Mr. Boss," continued Fiyero as he looked at the book. It seemed to be pulsing with life and at first Fiyero thought it was a trick of his eyes but soon after he realized that it was not and that the book was pulsing.

"Exactly," said Elphaba dismissively.

"Can you read it?" asked Fiyero impulsively without thinking.

Elphaba rolled her eyes at him with a snarl on her face, "Of course I can read it, you idiot! Do you think I would steal it if I couldn't read it?"

"No," said Fiyero hurt. He looked down at his hands for a moment and then looked at Elphaba.

"You won't need to use that book," he said after a few moments of silence.

Elphaba raised an eyebrow as she pushed past him and went to open the front door of the castle.

"Really? And why not, Prince Fiyero?" she asked as she opened the door.

"Because I'm planning on telling Glinda that I'm sorry and that I'm still going to marry her," admitted Fiyero.

That stopped the green skinned woman dead in her tracks. She stood there frozen with one hand on the door handle with her back towards Fiyero. All Fiyero could hear was her soft breathing and nothing else. For a moment Fiyero was concerned for her, thinking that she had suddenly gone mute or something but then she spoke.

"Oh."

"I know we have our fights but I realized that I really do love her… really I swear I do. I love her even though she can be a bitch but I guess I love those wicked streaks in her. Besides who doesn't come without any baggage?" Fiyero looked to Elphaba to hear her response.

"Well, Mr. Lovesick Prince you don't need to be convincing me that you love Glinda. You need to tell that bubbly blonde what you just told me. She's the one that needs to know you love her," said Elphaba with sarcasm filling every part of her voice.

Fiyero, for a moment, believed that the sarcasm in her voice was a strategy to hide another emotion that was brewing in the green woman. He believed that Elphaba was… hurt that he was going to confess his undying love to Glinda instead of her. His eyes searched her face for signs of sadness and he found none. So he put his suspicions aside and went inside to talk to Glinda, though he did glance back once at the green woman and saw a flash of emotion splayed out on his face that disappeared as quickly as it had come and one that he believed would haunt him all his life.

Upon entering the castle, Fiyero called out, "Glin? Glinda, are you alright?"

He heard the sound of footsteps from upstairs and he climbed the stairs to see what was the matter while Elphaba stayed in the foyer with the book clenched so tightly to her chest that it looked like it was a part of her body.

She could hear from her place downstairs that Fiyero and Glinda had started talking, well more like yelling. After a while they seemed to evolve into talking normally instead of yelling at each other. Elphaba only picked up on certain words and phrases that were exchanged like:

"-Really mean that?"

"I promise never to-"

"-Love you-"

Elphaba's mind was still reeling that she hadn't had to use magic to fix this relationship for once. She did feel happy for them, really she did but there was no use in denying that there was a small part of Elphaba that had been hoping that Fiyero and Glinda weren't going to get back together.

Suddenly a figure's shadow flashed across where Elphaba was standing and the woman looked up to see a man in a military uniform trying to flee the premises. He glanced her way and cocked his head to the side. His clothes seemed disheveled on his body and he put a finger to his lips as a plea for her silence.

And without another glance he fled out the back door.

Elphaba was about to call out to him, to ask him whom he was when Glinda and Fiyero came down the stairs. Deciding quickly that this was not the appropriate time to ask whom the man was Elphaba held her silence and flashed the couple a smile.

"So are you two alright now?" she asked.

Her gaze traveled to Fiyero's arm that was wrapped tightly around the blonde's petite waist lovingly and the green skinned woman found that it was getting hard to keep that smile on her face.

"Yes, I do believe we are," said Glinda beaming a bit and standing on her tiptoes to kiss Fiyero's cheek. Her lips pecked his cheek and he kissed her forehead with a smile on her lips.

"Glad to hear it," said Elphaba though she didn't sound glad, "So I guess now I'll be taking my leave. You guys don't need me messing up anymore of your life than I already have so goodbye!"

Elphaba turned with the book still in her grasp when she felt pinching nails in her arm.

"Oh please don't go!" The blonde had reached out a sharp hand to catch the woman before she had moved, "Since you got Fiyero and I back together, we wanted to thank you for your kindness with our hospitality. We promise that neither of us will never repeat our previous actions ever again, all we ask is that you stay with us. At least until the wedding this May."

Glinda put on a pleading smile that Elphaba found she could not resist and say no to.

"Besides," said Glinda softly, "My mother is coming tomorrow and I need all the help I can get."

Elphaba had to stifle a laugh at that, "Oh really? I don't believe a word of that."

Glinda half smiled grimly, "Well you should stay and see for yourself…" and with that she bid Fiyero and Elphaba goodnight and went up to her bedroom calling out to Fiyero, "Don't make me wait too long for your presence my prince!"

"So how much begging did it take?" asked Elphaba slyly to Fiyero.

The man grew red at the face and laughed slightly as he ran hand through his golden brown hair, "Um… not much actually. Just, you know, a lot of promises…"

Elphaba took the hint and smiled a bit.

"Is her mother really that bad?" she asked as they made their way upstairs to go to bed, seeing as they both were exhausted from the day they've had, "I mean, have you seen Glinda? She's the reigning Ice Queen!"

Fiyero nodded in agreement and then sighed, "Yes I know. But where do you think she learned it all? Glinda is tame compared to her mother… Glinda at least has some sort of a heart."

"And what her mother doesn't?" asked Elphaba as a joke as she reached her room. She opened the door and found that Fiyero's face had turned solemn.

"No heart at all," said Fiyero as he looked at her, "You'll find out tomorrow. Goodnight Elphaba, thank you for everything…"

He left and turned on his heel and Elphaba was left standing in the doorway of her room.

Slowly her hand closed the door and Elphaba sighed heavily. This was not turning out to be how she had expected it to be, but at least she knew that there would be no more fighting, at least between Fiyero and Glinda. Though Elphaba was curious to see how much damage Glinda's mother would bring, from the way they all talked about her Elphaba could only guess a lot…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen:

A long gloved finger moved across a crevice of the mantelpiece and dust collected on the fabric as the afternoon sun shone in through the windows. Peering at the dust, an older but still youthful looking blonde woman wrinkled her nose in disappointment and rubbed another finger against her dirty one and removed the dust from it. She tsked and looked at Glinda who was wringing her hands together in nervousness.

"You said you had how many maids, dear?" the older woman asked.

Glinda gulped and answered in a bare whisper, "Fourteen."

Larena Upland, Glinda's mother, shook her head letting her golden curls sway while the deep purple with white feather hat on top of her head stayed put. Dressed to the nines in a gown with the color similar to her hat, Larena Upland moved away from the mantelpiece and moved a bit closer to her only child.

"Well darling, I guess that isn't enough to keep this house clear or they're not doing their job right…" she cast a glare at the maids who were standing in a line to the side of the room, "When I was your age I had fifty servants and they still couldn't keep that damn house clean…" Larena trailed off with a slight laugh.

Glinda, who was in a fit of absolute nerves, looked panicked at what other insults her mother would throw at her next.

"I believe lunch is ready," piped up Fiyero just in time with a hand on Glinda's arm as if to keep the woman from running off, "Shall we go into the dining room?"

It had only been five minutes since her mother had arrived and Glinda was already on the verge of a nervous breakdown. That much Elphaba and Fiyero could figure out for themselves. Elphaba glanced at Fiyero to see if he really wanted her to join them for lunch and he nodded in her direction. They would need Elphaba's help today if they were ever going to get through this luncheon in one piece.

They all slowly made their way from one of the sitting rooms into the dining room. The pale blue color of the silk wallpaper shone as the sunlight danced across it from the crystals of the hanging gold chandelier that hung above the table.

"And why is she sitting with us?" Larena's comment was about Elphaba without a doubt, "I thought you had taken in a green woman as a guest for a moment there, Glinny-kins! Please do tell me that I'm wrong and that she's a new maid, dear…" The older blonde woman pursed her lips smugly as she waited for an answer as they all gathered in their places around the table.

"Elphie has been a great help to us as a friend and a guest, Mother," said Glinda coldly as she fiddled with the buttons of her light blue dress," she's been more help to me than you ever have been," she added under her breath.

Larena heard that and the woman shot a glare to her daughter who ignored it and focused on the tablecloth that was in front of her.

"And her skin color doesn't bother you dear?" Larena laughed heartily as she looked to Elphaba like she was an untamed animal, "God Lurline you really have lost your senses!"

"I have not," snapped back Glinda quite angrily as she tore her own hands away from the buttons and tightened them into fists in her lap. Larena merely looked at her daughter with a slightly blank and amused expression.

"Of course not darling," she sneered as a dainty hand made its way up to her chin and she rested her head on it as she waited for lunch.

Maybelle came with the dishes and served quite quickly for the job being left to only her. A plate with an array of sandwiches was placed on the table for each person and Elphaba happily ate all of her sandwiches and she noticed that neither Glinda nor Larena touched theirs. Fiyero on the other hand like Elphaba devoured his sandwiches though Elphaba guessed that that was because the sandwiches did not satisfy his appetite.

No one spoke for the longest time at the table. The only sounds that were heard were the clinking of the silver wear against the china plates and of mouths slowly chewing.

The air seemed to still inside the room and Elphaba looked down at her plate for a while and then at her clothes. They seemed so ordinary compared to what Mrs. Upland and Glinda were wearing, and at this point even Fiyero's collared shirt and dress pants were better than what she was wearing. She had picked out the dress that morning from Glinda's closet, it was one of her less striking pieces of clothing with a simple black lace top and a slim skirt. Not one to care about her attire, Elphaba couldn't help but think that she really didn't belong in this setting, this world were everyone dressed to the nines for a luncheon and changed three to four times a day. Immersed in her thoughts, Elphaba missed the first time Mrs. Upland asked her a question and she finally caught the question after being pulled away from her thoughts.

"You there, Glinny said your name was Elphaba right?" And it took Elphaba a few moments to finally realize that the older woman was talking to her and she stumbled over her words clumsily and nervously, "Yes Mrs. Upland."

"And how did you become a guest at Kiamo Ko with my daughter and her fiancé?" Mrs. Upland looked at the green woman with piercing eyes like she was a bug that must be squashed immediately.

Glinda looked at Fiyero, Fiyero looked at Elphaba, and Elphaba looked at Glinda for an answer to that question.

"Um it was actually my idea Mrs. Upland," said Fiyero with a sheepish smile, "See we met Elphaba at… um the circus and we… um well we became um…"

Before he could finish his made up on the fly response Larena Upland burst into peals of cruel and harsh sounding laughter.

"What did I tell you, Glinda I told you he would hire a prostitute if you didn't satisfy him enough!" said Larena after she had finished laughing with seriousness embedded now into her tone, "Now look at you, being cast aside in your own house! How shameful, my dear! Really I wonder what has gotten into your head that you actually allow this to happen to you! Don't you have any pride left; you are an Arduenna and an Upland for Lurline's sake! You should at least have some dignity left my dear. What would your father say, Lurline bless his soul, if he knew that you were infertile and still not married to that fairy-tale prince of yours?"

Glinda looked like she was about to fall apart as the string of cruel attacks of words kept coming from her mother.

"Elphaba is not a prostitute, Mother!" managed Glinda with a harshness in her tone.

Larena merely smiled smugly at that and made no counter comment.

As for Glinda her tears brimmed with unshed tears and she attempted to cover the sniffles and sobs quietly exiting her lips with her hands. The comments her mother had made sank into the blonde's heart and nervous system, causing her to cry into her napkin. Her mother made no effort to have concerned feelings towards her daughter even as she watched her cry. As for the other things her mother had said, Glinda made no other comment. Though Glinda had defended Elphaba in the accusation it didn't seem to make any difference to Larena who simply continued to speak for everyone else at the table had gone silent from shock.

"Would you just look at your replacement, Glinda dear? Lurline above I can't believe I have lived to see the day that my own golden haired daughter is inferior in a man's heart to a woman of such disgusting green skin color!"

Elphaba looked down at her lap in shame, she felt horribly wretched that she was just watching Glinda get verbally attacked by her own mother.

"I think we're done here," said Fiyero icily. He slammed his fork down on the table and abruptly got up to leave when Larena's cackle-like laugh stopped him.

"Oh no darling, I'm just getting started," she said.

Elphaba saw Fiyero tense up tightly after that comment, his jaw squaring and his hands clenched into fists.

Elphaba stole a glance at Glinda again who was a crying wreck at what her mother had said to her and for once in her life Elphaba thanked the heavens that she at least did not have a degrading mother like Mrs. Upland.

Deciding quickly, Elphaba got up from her place at the table and walked over to Glinda who tried to dry her tears as soon as she saw Elphaba approaching. But Elphaba simply extended her hand to the young blonde woman.

After attempting to stop the sniffling and the tears that were streaming down her face Glinda looked up at Elphaba with gratitude shining in her tear-filled eyes. Neither of them had to say anything for each other to get what they were trying to tell one another.

Their eye contact was all it took.

Glinda silently thanked Elphaba as she placed a trembling pale hand in Elphaba's emerald one.

"Well I never," blurted out Larena Upland as she watched Glinda and Elphaba along with Fiyero head for the other room.

Elphaba turned sharply at that remark and glared at the woman that called herself Glinda's mother, "No, I suppose you haven't," she said with malice laced deep into her voice.

Mrs. Upland's facial features furrowed in offense and she got up from the table.

"Well dearies I can tell when I'm not wanted," she said stiffly and haughtily with her perk nose pointed upwards to prove that she was as much as a snob on the outside as she was on the inside, "So I'll bid you all good-day."

Fiyero, Glinda, and Elphaba all paused at the doorway to let her through. She avoided eye contact with everyone but Glinda to whom she got close to and whispered in her ear.

"Don't you even think about coming back to Gillikin if everything I said turns out to be true, Galinda… don't you dare even briefly ponder on it. As of this moment, since you refuse to take my advice or even my good judgment, consider yourself no longer an Upland nor my daughter." Mrs. Upland straightened her posture and looked her daughter in the eyes. Glinda was trying so hard not to burst into tears as she bit her lip so bad that she drew blood and was squeezing Elphaba and Fiyero's hand so tightly that neither of them had any feeling left.

"I thought I raised you better than this, Glinda. I told you that your beauty would only last for so long with him before he went and found himself another girl… a green girl in this case but another girl nonetheless. I didn't raise this worthless, withered, spineless pathetic crying creature I see in front of me. As far as I'm concerned the girl I raised is gone and the one who replaced her is as good as dead to me…"

She turned away from her only daughter and kin left, even though that daughter was sobbing hysterically at this point and apologizing like crazy, and walked away.

Both Elphaba and Fiyero tried to stop Glinda from going after her mother but the blonde was too fast and she ran out of the dining room begging her mother to come back.

Elphaba followed Fiyero silently out of previous room and into the foyer as they saw Glinda chase her mother.

"Why is she trying to reconcile with her?" asked Elphaba her voice heavy with emotion, "If that monster was my mother I wouldn't even-"

"But that's just it, she's not your mother, Elphaba. She's Glinda's and she's all Glinda has left of her family. The rest of her family is dead and her mother is all she has left," said Fiyero in a faint, hollow voice that told Elphaba he didn't agree with Glinda's actions.

"But still if your own mother treated you like that would you really care that she didn't love you and didn't care about you unless you achieved a social status and lived up to her expectations?" posed Elphaba heatedly.

Fiyero looked to where Glinda was now on the steps of Kiamo Ko crumpled in a crying mess and then looked back at Elphaba.

"We accept the love we think we deserve," stated Fiyero, "Glinda thinks that she deserves that kind of cruel and degrading love from her mother because she's never really known any other kind and she's desperately afraid to lose it. And since Glinda has not been the nicest human being she believes that she deserves that kind of affection if you can even call it that because she knows that it is some sort of feeling that her mother is giving to her and Glinda settles for that."

"That woman is horrid to her, Fiyero!" interjected Elphaba as her eyes flickered to where the blonde was, "No matter how cruel and mean Glinda can be, and no one not even Glinda deserves to think that that display of emotion is love!"

"But she does though and she always will," he said softly as he suddenly left Elphaba's side to go tend to Glinda. Elphaba watched from her place in the castle as Fiyero scooped the petite crying blonde up into his arms and carried her into their bedroom.

Elphaba decided it would be best to leave them alone for a while so she wandered off into the library. After reading a number of books while curled up on a chair Elphaba was suddenly disturbed by Fiyero who bolted into the room.

His face was ashen and that was the first clue to Elphaba that something was very seriously wrong.

"Fiyero what-"

"I don't know what happened, first thing I know she ran into the bathroom complaining that she felt like she was going to throw up and then next thing I know she's passed out cold and has a high fever," rushed Fiyero as he quickly snatched up Elphaba's hand and ran with her in tow to the bedroom.

They made their way quickly through the bedroom and into the bathroom that was connected to the room, and as soon as Elphaba laid eyes on Glinda she knew that this was not good, it was not good at all…


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen:

"Have you called a doctor?" asked Elphaba as soon as she adjusted to the sight before her which was Glinda lying on the tiles of the bathroom floor passed out cold with her face burning red from fever. The unconscious blonde moaned softly and whimpered a helpless plea in her feverish state.

"Yes but he's caught up at the hospital in the middle of an operation and can't come until five," Fiyero said.

"That's too long," remarked Elphaba as she glanced upwards at a clock and bit her lip, "We need to do something now."

"Like what?" asked Fiyero as he knelt down next to Glinda, checking her pulse, "And since when are you a doctor?"

"Do you want my help or not, Fiyero?" snapped Elphaba. Her eyes bore into his with intensity.

"Yes, yes I do please. For her sake if not for my own," he said breathlessly as he tenderly cradled Glinda's limp and sick body in his arms.

Elphaba looked down at the obviously sick woman, recognizing the symptoms of her ailment quickly and feeling her heart sink as she confirmed what it was without a single examination.

"What is it?" Fiyero looked at her once more, his eyes pleading with her, "Please, tell me," he said gently, softly.

Elphaba cleared her throat, "I'm, I'm not sure…" she said hastily. She got down on her knees on the tile floor and placed a hand on the pale face in front of her. Suddenly Glinda's body jerked as she began to have a coughing fit and before either Fiyero or Elphaba knew it the blonde suddenly threw up. A mess of fluids lay on the floor between them but neither Elphaba nor Fiyero seemed to care. They were more focused on the pained and suffering woman that was lying in Fiyero's arms.

"Move her to the bed," ordered Elphaba afterwards, "I'll go get a bucket. And have Maybelle bring us fresh towels."

She left while Fiyero carried Glinda to the bed and placed her snug in between the soft sheets. When Elphaba came back into the room she saw that he was right by her side, tenderly and softly applying a wet cloth to her forehead and whispering comforting and loving words to her unconscious pale form.

She stopped at the doorway, a lump in her throat form and tears brimming at her eyes that she refused to let fall. She had been silly, stupid at the least, to even consider the mere possibility that Fiyero had actually had feelings for her, a green freak. As she looked onto the tender scene between the prince and his princess Elphaba couldn't help but realize that she never really did belong here.

Her hands twisted around the silver handle of the bucket until she was sure that it could penetrate her skin and damage her hands for good if she twisted any tighter. The lump in her throat would not go away and her eyes would not let the water film inside them leave either. She breathed in slowly, trying to calm her emotions as she observed the tenderness in which Fiyero touched Glinda's skin, the obvious love and care he put into trying to lessen her pain.

Elphaba had never had anyone, anyone at all even attempt to give her care and love before.

Elphaba didn't know why this particular incident hit her as hard as it did but it left an impact on her heart that she was certain would never fully heal no matter how much time she gave it.

A hand, Fiyero's hand that looked tanned in the flickering candlelight, grazed across the blonde's hot skin of her face, caressing it softly.

"I love you, Glinda," he whispered faintly as he pressed a kiss to her dampened forehead, "Please don't leave me."

Tears threatened to fall from Elphaba's face but she tensed up in her body in sheer stubbornness not to have them fall. She felt horribly wretched, like someone had taken her hopes and dreams and had crushed them right before her eyes with their feet.

Suddenly Fiyero looked over to her, those brown eyes of his connecting with her own for a second before they returned to their post on Glinda's face.

"Oh good," he said hoarsely, "You got a bucket."

Elphaba mechanically walked over to the bed, even though she wanted nothing more than to run away crying, and handed him the bucket like an emotionless robot.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he placed the bucket besides him on the bed.

"No," she said softly. Her eyes traveled towards his hair that shone in the light and she felt another break in her heart, "Nothing's wrong."

He turned away from Glinda to look at her once more, obviously realizing that there was something underlying to her tone but he did not press upon it.

There was knocking at the door and they looked to see who it was.

Maybelle stood there, twisting her apron round and around in her hands, looking awfully nervous and anxious.

"Yes, Maybelle?" asked Fiyero, his voice tense and strained.

"I need to talk to you, Master Tiggular," she said hesitantly. Her eyes flickered back and forth from Fiyero's face to Glinda's.

"Can't it wait, Maybelle?" hissed Fiyero as Glinda threw up again but this time into the bucket. His thoughts and actions in that moment had suddenly switched from himself to all about her in an instant. He held her hand as he helped the blonde to lean over to expel whatever toxins were in her body.

"No, sir it can't," pressed Maybelle.

Elphaba looked between the two and figured out quickly that Maybelle did that Fiyero was going to win this argument.

"Maybelle not now!" snapped Fiyero. He sent her a harsh glare and returned back into tending to Glinda for the blonde was now bleeding from the nose, "I have no time for gossip right now!"

Elphaba glanced at Maybelle and the poor girl seemed hurt.

"I was only trying to help," Elphaba heard her mutter as the maid ran from the doorway and back to where ever her post was.

Elphaba was about to confront Fiyero about how he had handled the situation but she never got the chance.

"Elphaba, tell me do you know what this is? Tell me now so I can make arrangements for medicines, please!"

He looked so desperate in that moment, so pleading and so broken at the sight of seeing Glinda so sick.

His brown eyes were muddled with unshed tears as he gazed into Elphaba's eyes, waiting for an answer.

Elphaba bit her lip. If she told him the truth, it would destroy him.

"I've-I've seen this before," she said. She watched him as he laid the blonde back down onto the bed. Elphaba found that she could not look at him and she focused her gaze on Glinda; which didn't help either.

"And?"

Fiyero had his fingers stroking through Glinda's hair that was splayed all around her head and across the pillow. Elphaba looked on as he repeated the action slowly for a while before answering.

"I think it's the Spanish flu."

The fingers stopped immediately, flew out of the mess of hair and tensed up into a fist by Fiyero's side.

"And how would you know that?"

"I told you already, I've seen it before. It spread like wildfire at the circus a few weeks ago," Elphaba's eyes suddenly shot back down to Glinda as she moaned. The petite woman's fingers clenched tightly as the fever raged through her body at the bed sheets.

Fiyero clamped one hand over Glinda's and rubbed it soothingly.

"It's alright, Glin. You'll be alright soon darling," he cooed to her softly.

"What do we do?" he asked shortly afterwards. His eyes remained locked on Glinda's form.

Elphaba bit her lip hard. She couldn't tell him the truth, could she?

"There's nothing we can do," she said at last, "This is a strange disease. One moment the victim can be fine and then the next they can on their deathbed."

"What about a remedy? Any medicines I can give her?" Fiyero was desperate for an answer.

Elphaba hesitated for a second too long and watched as the light, the hope, in Fiyero's eyes dim slowly.

"Fiyero… I'm sorry but I don't think we can save her," Elphaba started to say other things to try and comfort him when he cut her off.

"But I mean- how bad does she-it look?" Fiyero fumbled the words out of his mouth. He kept a steady hand over Glinda's frail one.

Elphaba looked at Glinda with a critical medical eye. When the Spanish flu had infiltrated the circus because of the crowd of soldiers that they had entertained that night Elphaba had been in charge of taking care of the sick and dying so she knew all the signs. Glinda was far too pale, far too limp and feverish to ever have a possibility of recovering. As the young blonde woman lay there buried under the covers in her sweat-soaked nightgown Elphaba could help but feel pity for her. Though there was a part of her, a miniscule part of her that lay deep inside Elphaba's heart, that only wished slightly that the blonde wouldn't live through the sickness. If Glinda died then maybe Fiyero would turn to Elphaba for comfort, and touch and look at her the same way he was looking at Glinda now.

Elphaba stopped that tiny thought in its making and dismissed it. She was quite frightened that her own mind had even conjured up such a horrible and wicked thought.

"It doesn't look good but that doesn't mean anything," said Elphaba swiftly. She saw the hurt in Fiyero's eyes and felt horribly guilty.

"Do you think she'll make it?" he asked hollowly. His hand twitched slightly over Glinda's and Elphaba realized that he was picturing life without Glinda for a split second.

"Like I said it's a funny disease Fiyero. I wouldn't be sure of anything," she was trying her best to reassure him that there was a possibility that Glinda would not die but Fiyero was already thinking the worst, that much was clear.

"We could be… what if you used that book to save her?" His face suddenly lit up with the utmost hope Elphaba had ever seen on someone's face.

"Fiyero-no that book is dangerous!" countered Elphaba as she grimly thought of what had happened last time she had used the book to try and save someone, "I wouldn't be sure what to recite anyways. It's unpredictable what could happen to her."

He shot her a fierce dark look, "Anything is better than losing her," he uttered as he fled the blonde's side and bolted out of the room.

Elphaba didn't even have time to move before he came back with the Grimmerie in his hands. Deciding that questioning him about how he knew the whereabouts of the book was pointless she moved on to the topic of what he planned to do with it now that he had it.

"Fiyero what are you doing?" she inquired as her gaze never left the book.

"I'm going to save her," he stated as he opened the book and began scouring through the pages to find some spell to save Glinda.

"Fiyero, I know you can't read that. I'm the only one who can read that…" Elphaba reminded him.

"I'll figure it out," he muttered as he hastily flipped through more pages.

"And risk causing any more damage to her? I don't think so," Elphaba walked over to him slowly like a hunter stalking its prey, "Fiyero. Give me the book."

"No," he said stubbornly pulling it closer to his body and out of her reach, "I have to save her. Just look at her!" he cried.

His finger was shaking and was pointed at the blonde positioned on the bed that had grown deathly pale since Elphaba had last looked at her. She looked like she was on Death's door at the moment.

"In an hour she could be fine, Fiyero. Do you really want to take such a chance as to trying to save her when she could save herself with just more time?" Elphaba tried to reason with him.

"Yes, I do because in a hour she could also be dead! I don't want to risk losing her when I have the power to save her," his tone was on the verge of hysteria.

Elphaba saw the haunted look that was beginning to form in his eyes from the image of thinking of life if Glinda died and she found that she wanted to do everything in her power to make that look go away. She didn't want Fiyero to hurt and she didn't want Glinda to die.

"Magic comes with a price, Fiyero. Are you sure you want Glinda and yourself to pay that price?" she asked him in a deathly serious tone.

The edge in her voice stopped the hysterical prince and made him pause for a minute.

"Yes. Please…" he begged, "I just can't lose her."

Elphaba nodded gravely as she snatched the Grimmerie from him and began to look in it for a spell.

"Thank you, Elphaba," said Fiyero weakly as he took his place on the bedside with Glinda's hand in his.

"Don't thank me yet," grumbled Elphaba as she flipped the book open to the spell she had been looking for and breathed in deep for a moment.

She took one glance at Fiyero before she recited the spell, to make sure that this was what he wanted, to see if he really was ready to accept the consequences but his eyes were on Glinda.

With a heavy sigh Elphaba performed the spell. When she was finished she shut the book and nearly collapsed on top of it.

"Elphaba, are you alright?" Fiyero reached out a hand to steady her.

"I'm fine, magic is just tiring," she said as her eyes never left Glinda's face.

Silence followed as they waited and waited for a sign, something, from Glinda that showed that she was alive and healthy.

Suddenly Glinda still form became twisted as it bent and shook against the sheets.

"Glinda!" cried out Fiyero as he nearly lunged for the blonde, trying to calm her but it seemed like her body was possessed, like it had a mind of its own.

Her breath came in ragged gasps as her body trembled in spasms and tremors of severe pain that had been put upon her from the spell.

As quickly as it came thought it stopped. Fiyero and Elphaba watched as Glinda's body suddenly stopped and fell back hard against the mattress, the blonde breathing heavily in pain as it lessened.

"Glin…" started Fiyero as he placed his hands cautiously on the skin of her body. Elphaba was horror-stricken and she did not move from her place on the bed. She looked as though she had gone mute with fear.

So it was up to Fiyero to make sure that Glinda was all right. His fingers gently danced along her now normal temperature skin to check her pulse when he realized that there was a bulge near the left side of her chest protruding into her nightgown. Curious and worried Fiyero undid the buttons of the nightgown exposing Glinda's chest to the air.

"Oh Oz," he whispered as the horrible reality of it all struck him and he looked at what had come of using a spell to save Glinda.

"What is it?" Elphaba barely managed to get the question out. She somehow managed to scoot herself over to where she could see better and she froze as soon as her eyes laid on the price that Glinda had to pay for using magic.

The chunk of skin that had been over the blonde's heart had disappeared, leaving a bloody hole in the middle of her body. But that was not the worst part. In the place where her heart should have been was now not a regular beating heart like everyone else had but a literal commercial heart made out of frosted glass that did not beat. The glass heart turned red as the blood in the blonde veins was being pumped into and out of it.

It was a horrifyingly gruesome sight to behold with Glinda lying there, breathing lightly with a hole in her chest that exposed a glass heart.

"What have I done?" moaned Fiyero as his head fell into his hands in utter despair.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen:

Fiyero held his head in his heads for the longest time before he spoke again. His head rose up slowly from the spot in his hands and focused on Glinda's un-beating glass heart.

"Oh Oz what have I done?" he murmured in a whispery almost broken record like tone, "What have I done?"

He turned to Elphaba sharply, "You have to fix this," he said pushing the book back towards her, "You're the only one who can! Reverse the spell or something!"

"I can't," Elphaba said hollowly, still in shock, "Spells are irreversible. She's going to have a glass heart forever, Fiyero."

The prince cradled his head in his heads in despair once more as the words sank in. His shoulders shook with grief and pain, "This is all my fault," he cried softly, "It's my own damn fault."

"Fiyero," Elphaba tried to console him as she placed one hand on his shaking one, "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have said the spell," her gaze glanced at Glinda's heart for a mere moment in shame and guilt, "If anyone is at fault then it's me not you."

Fiyero looked up, tears sparkling in his brown eyes, chin wobbling furiously, hands shaking as tears streamed down his face and without warning he collapsed into Elphaba's arms and against her body. He cried in anguish and grief against her shoulder. Elphaba was shocked to say the least. She awkwardly and stiffly wrapped her thin arms around the prince in an embrace. If there was something in this world that shocked Elphaba every-time she saw it that would be when men cried. It made her feel about a thousand times worse and all guilty inside. Elphaba knew that if a man was crying about something, then it was not to be taken lightly,

"Fiyero, please don't cry. What if she wakes up and sees you crying, you wouldn't want that now would you?" she asked as she felt the trembles from his body because he was so close to her.

The tears were starting to soak though the thin layer of her dress. Elphaba grimaced and could feel the water burning her skin. She felt awful, this had been the worst outcome that Elphaba had caused by using The Grimmerie and she blamed herself entirely. Her eyes drifted to the unconscious blonde that was lying eerily still underneath the covers of the bed.

Elphaba reached out a hand and hovered it over where the hole in the blonde's chest was. Hoping that she remembered the spell right, Elphaba muttered the healing spell that she had learned from growing up with the Quadlings under her breath. To her relief Elphaba watched as the exposed hole magically healed itself together with a new fresh layer of skin that looked like it had been stitched on the blonde.  
Finding that to be much more comforting to look at, Elphaba returned her attention to the crying prince in her arms.

"Fiyero," Elphaba whispered gently, not wanting to startle him. But when the prince gave no acknowledgement or even acted like he had heard her Elphaba grew impatient and frustrated, "Fiyero, for Oz's sake stop your crying or you're going to burn me."

She felt him stop crying but he did not move from his position; which was curled up against Elphaba. The green woman had no complaints on this, and in fact she was more than delighted that Fiyero had turned to her for comfort. Her heart leaped and fluttered inside her chest at the actual fact that here she was with Fiyero in her arms. Even though the situation in which this was under was less then ideal it was a step closer to making what had just been imaginings in Elphaba's head a reality.

"Do you think she'll hate me?" came Fiyero's question; which was slightly muffled and faint.

"No, she won't hate you. She'll hate me," said Elphaba in response, "I'm always the one who gets blamed and hated…"

Now with her mind on the topic of Glinda Elphaba wondered briefly if the blonde would ever wake up again seeing as how eerily still she had been ever since the spell had ended.

Her eyes landed on Glinda for anything, a sign that she was okay, when the blonde's petite fingers twitched and those ice blue eyes fluttered open a couple of times.

"Fiyero… Fiyero look she's awake," whispered Elphaba to the prince in her arms.

His head shot away from her shoulder and towards Glinda immediately. His brown eyes stared into her blue eyes with compassion and relief.

"Glin…" he whispered breathlessly as her eyes stayed fully open and gazed slightly unfocused at his.

"Yero…" she croaked out quietly, as if she was back on her deathbed even though there was a fresh red color rising in her cheeks and her complexion looked as healthy as ever.

His coarse fingers weaved their way into her thin slender hand, holding it gently.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a soft tone. His eyes never left her face as he slowly moved away from Elphaba and closer towards her on the bed.

"Alr-" Glinda didn't get halfway through the word before she stopped suddenly, gasped in pain, closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"Glinda?" Fiyero felt the woman's light grasp suddenly tighten on his fingers and he was immediately concerned, it was etched all across his face, "What is it?"

Glinda was now deathly pale as her face was scrunched up in what looked like absolute agony.

"I don't know," she managed to get out in whimpers, "It just hurts."

Fiyero looked at her with a look in his face that said he wanted to do something to help her but he knew he couldn't. All he could do was hold her hand.

"You need to rest," Elphaba finally interjected herself into the conversation now, "Go to sleep Glinda. We'll go get some medication from the doctor."

Later Elphaba all but dragged Fiyero out of the room and into the hallway once the blonde woman was settled in bed and comfortable.

"We need to tell her," was the first thing Fiyero said to her as he gave her back The Grimmerie.

"No, no we don't," protested Elphaba as she took the book, "not yet at least."

But-" Fiyero started.

"No," Elphaba glared at him with her eyes as they descended down the stairs to the kitchen to fetch the blonde a glass of water, "Think of what a fragile state of mind she is in and how weak she is. If we tell her now she'll become distressed and who knows what could happen to her then. We'll tell her when the time is right and when she's back to normal."

Fiyero fetched the glass and poured some water into it. He held it in his hands as he looked at Elphaba.

"And when will that be?"

Elphaba looked at her feet as she unconsciously smoothed out her dress with her hands.

"I don't know," she said tentatively, "I really don't know."

Her words echoed around the kitchen for a long time and Fiyero stood still with the water in his hands.

"You should get some rest Elphaba," said Fiyero suddenly after the long period of silence was over, "I'll stay with Glinda for the rest of the night."

Elphaba, not realizing how late it actually was, looked at the clock and discovered that it was eleven in the evening.

She looked at Fiyero who looked like a man who was still struggling through the worst day of his life and nodded without a protest.

She climbed the stairs and went to go into her bedroom when Fiyero's voice calling out her name stopped her.

Elphaba turned and was greeted with a sudden, soft kiss from Fiyero on the lips.

"Thank you for saving her for me. Even with what happened, I'm still in a debt of gratitude towards you," he said after his lips left her mouth.

It took Elphaba a moment to react to his words and when she did, she smiled at him softly, faintly, "Your 'prince-ness' is showing, Fiyero," she said slyly.

He laughed, a slight chuckle and smiled at her.

"Thank you, Elphaba. I mean it," he pressed still on the subject of how she had saved Glinda. His eyes met hers and a spark flew in Elphaba's heart but she diminished it quickly.

"Don't mention it," she said as she opened her door and closed it behind her with a wag of her fingers as a goodnight signal to him. With her back towards the door she waited until she heard his footsteps and knew that he was in the bedroom where Glinda was. She closed her eyes and sank down to the floor against the door and tried to keep the tears inside.

Although she was happy that Glinda was all right, it had been a wake up call to the circus woman that Fiyero's heart would always be or return to Glinda. There could never be a spot for Elphaba in that brainless prince's heart except as an intrigue, a passing love interest that would fade away in the spot in his heart as quickly as it had come.

She resisted the strong urge she had to cry and ended up crawling into bed feeling horribly used and worthless. As she shut off the lights and put The Grimmerie on her bedside table, Elphaba stayed awake in her bed curled up under the covers with the sound of Fiyero and even Glinda every once in a while talking keeping her awake because Elphaba knew that she would never be that girl, that she would never be Fiyero's girl… no matter how hard she wished she was or how hard she tried to be.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty:

Elphaba woke up early that morning or in her case just got out of bed and moved to the hallway after a whole night of not sleeping one wink. She wandered aimlessly through the corridors of the castle in a numbing trance, not really caring where she ended up or paying attention to where she was going.

But the long stroll did nothing for the empty feeling that was forming in her heart. She shouldn't have realized as soon as she had came here that Fiyero was devoted to Glinda and not her. No amount of touches, of glances, of smiles, or of passing thoughts could ever changed that, or at least not now anyways. It seemed that Glinda's near death experience had only strengthened the love Fiyero had for the blonde and weakened the attraction he had with Elphaba. Elphaba didn't truly know if her heart was all right with that or not.

The void, hurtful hole that was forming in her heart brought a greater pain than anything else in her life had ever caused her. It was one thing to be hated and disregarded all your life but it was another thing entirely to be exempt from any kind of love, parental love, sibling love, friendship love, and true love and that was what Elphaba was going through now. She was not being included in the act of human companionship, in the humanistic nature to be loved and give love in return.

But, Elphaba thought grimly, she should expect nothing less because who was she to ask for love when she herself had never truly loved anyone before?

She turned a corner and unexpectedly bumped into Maybelle who was carrying a tray full of options for breakfast.

"Oh Miss Elphaba, I'm dreadfully sorry," immediately sputtered out Maybelle as she adjusted the tray in her hands, being careful to assure that nothing had spilled.

"It's fine," said Elphaba simply.

There must have been something in her tone that had struck Maybelle as odd for the maid looked at her queerly.

"Is there something wrong, Miss Elphaba?"

Elphaba glanced at her quickly and then retreated her eyes from Maybelle's face.

"No, not at all. In fact everything is great," lied the green woman though it was partially true, "Glinda has made a full recovery." Again, that was a half-truth as well… if that was even the truth anymore. Elphaba didn't know how the blonde was doing and she didn't think it was her place to intervene right now.

"That's wonderful," said Maybelle though it sounded to Elphaba as if she didn't really mean it. That sparked a memory in Elphaba's mind and a question that she had been waiting to ask Maybelle.

"Maybelle," started Elphaba as the maid turned to leave with the tray, "Last night… what were you going to tell Fiyero and I?"

The maid stopped walking, turned on her heel to face Elphaba and looked at her.

"Never-mind you that, Miss Elphaba. It doesn't matter anymore. Besides I'm sure it will come to the surface sooner or later…" said Maybelle darkly as she nodded to Elphaba once more and passed her.

Elphaba was left quite mystified as to what the maid could have possibly been talking about, and then she remembered the soldier fleeing the premises and she wondered if the two were connected. But the main question was left buzzing in Elphaba's head, if they were indeed connected why were they connected?

Glinda woke up sleepily to find Fiyero sitting besides her on the bed with a loving smile on his face.

"Hi there stranger," she said softly finding her voice to still be weak and frail.

Fiyero broke out into a grin, a lovesick puppy dog grin as he laughed slightly, "Hello to you too," he paused, "How are you feeling?"

Glinda looked at him, a slight flickering motion and instinctively tried to sit up, but she found out quickly that to do that required much more strength than she had at the point and she sank back into the pillows.

"Not much better, if you can't tell," she said with a small smile on her face. She grimaced inwardly and tried to keep the smile on her face as best she could but it faltered for a split second and she could tell that Fiyero noticed.

"Don't try to be well just for me because I can tell that you're not," said Fiyero quietly as a hand reached out and stroked the side of her face.

Glinda let the smile fall from her face soon after and bit her lip in pain, "I was feeling much better when I was sleeping," she admitted as the pain that had been in her chest last night had started up again.

"So go back to sleep," encouraged Fiyero for he noticed she had grown the slightest shade paler, "I will still be here when you wake up."

A smug smile made its way onto her lips, "I guess I shouldn't expect anything less," she teased.

Glinda breathed in slowly as she tried to relax but with the stabbing pain in her chest she found that to be quite hard.

"What happened to me last night?" she asked quietly after a period of silence, "The last thing I remember was kissing you and then feeling horribly sick and running to the bathroom."

Fiyero took a long time to answer her, to find the right words to try and explain what had happened without frightening her.

"Well… you had a very high fever all of a sudden and you just sort of passed out," Fiyero said giving her the bare minimum of information that she needed to know.

"Oh, I don't really remember that," said the blonde woman faintly as she shifted underneath the comfy covers and rested her head against a pillow.

"What do you remember?" asked Fiyero hesitantly. He was so afraid that Glinda knew about the glass heart that was now keeping her alive, though Fiyero was still puzzled as to how a glass heart would work, and that she was going to accuse him for what happened to her.

"I remember waking up last night and I remember talking to you throughout the night but I don't remember anything from when I was sick," said Glinda truthfully and it sounded to Fiyero as though she wished she could remember, "Was it bad?"

"Yes," said Fiyero swallowing hard, "It was very hard to see you like that, in so much pain. But you're alright now, aren't you?"

His words were soft, full of love and compassion and Glinda looked at him with gratitude and what Fiyero thought was a flash of remorse and regret for something, something that he obviously did not know about.

"I will be," she said with a tight smile.

A faint smile appeared on Fiyero's face as he put his hand on hers and leaned in to kiss the bridge of her nose in affection.

"Are you up for breakfast?" he asked after the kiss, "I had Maybelle arrange a tray for you."

"I'll try for breakfast," said the blonde weakly as she tried to prop herself up but had to get help from Fiyero who placed a few pillows behind her back to help her stay upright.

"Where is Elphaba?" was Glinda's next question as Fiyero placed the tray in his lap in front of her and skinned an apple for her.

"I don't know. I sent her off to bed last night and haven't seen her since," said Fiyero as he held out the apple. Glinda took it gingerly and bit into it slowly.

"That was nice of you," she commented as soon as she finished swallowing the small piece of apple that she had eaten.

"You're doing much better than you were last night," remarked Fiyero as he watched her eat, "Last night you could barely speak to me."

A blush rose to the blonde's face, as she smiled lightly, "Well aren't you glad that I can speak to you now."

"Yes, I am very glad," replied Fiyero earnestly as he took the apple away from her as soon as she was done with it.

"Is the doctor coming soon, you know to check up on me?" asked Glinda after a while of silence.

Fiyero's face blanched. He hadn't thought of a believable excuse yet to convince her that a doctor was not needed. Fiyero knew that if they told doctors of Glinda's condition that she would instantly become a test subject or worse be ridiculed and presented at a circus like Elphaba had been.

"He already came, while you were sleeping, and he says that you are perfectly fine," it was such a lie and such a bad one at that but Glinda was so tired and so uncaring at the moment that she looked past it and accepted it without any further questions.

"I want to stand," she announced to Fiyero after another maid who had came and left like a ghost had taken the tray away.

"Actually no, I don't want to stand. I want to take a bath and get into a different nightgown," said Glinda after a moment of thought as she realized that she probably should clean herself up and maybe she would feel better after that.

"You can't," said Fiyero in a commanding voice that sounded like he was afraid of what might happen if she did.

Glinda's eyes furrowed as she glared at him, "And why not? Fiyero, I feel disgusting. Just a little bubble bath will do the trick, I'm sure."

"Doctors orders," lied Fiyero as he tried to coax her to get back under the covers for she had hastily thrown them off of her body, "You need to rest for the whole day and then tomorrow maybe you can take a shower."

Fiyero was stalling, he needed to find Elphaba and talk options because they couldn't keep Glinda in bed all day forever and not have her find out about the stitching around her heart.

She pouted softly, her arms crossing her chest and her lips in a deep frown.

"Well what if you helped me with the bath, would that be an option?" she said seductively and though Fiyero was sorely, actually very tempted to say yes he stood his ground.

"No," he said without looking at her and out of the corner of his eyes he saw her eyes flash with sadness and cold anger, "Tomorrow though, I promise."

But it was just another empty promise and Fiyero felt horrible saying it.

"I'm going to find Elphaba, alright darling? Now you just stay here and rest and when I get back you can have some lunch," Fiyero said as he kissed her cheek.

Glinda watched him leave and as soon as the door was closed behind him she threw off the covers, determined to at least comb her hair in the bathroom if she could do nothing else. The blonde shakily stood up on her feet, feeling very dizzy but pushing through it, and clumsily (Glinda had never been clumsy before) stumbled her way into the bathroom.

She gripped the edge of the sink with both hands to steady herself as she tried to remember where she had last seen the comb. She was about to reach for it when the movement of raising her arm caused her to see something strange that was reflected in the mirror that seemed to be underneath her nightgown, right over where her heart would be.

At first Glinda thought it was nothing but the more she peered at the image in the mirror she realized that there was something there.

Forgetting all about the comb, Glinda had one hand gripping the counter while the other was undoing the buttons of her nightgown.

Lowering the nightgown so she could see to just below her breasts Glinda stared horrified at what she saw reflected in the glass.

Her trembling fingers hovered over the spot where her heart was and she touched the new skin gently. Her fingertips moved to the stitches that were embedded in her skin that were holding the new flesh to the old.

Glinda noticed that some of the stitching was coming undone already and she was going to leave it alone when a flash of something clear underneath the new skin caught her eye. Knowing how bad it was to pull stitches when they weren't ready, Glinda gently tugged away a part of the new skin on her chest just enough so she could see what the damage had been. The blonde was quite surprised when she didn't start gushing blood from her chest as she looked.

Again, Glinda thought that it was a trick of her mind that she was seeing but upon closer inspection it dawned on the young blonde woman that she no longer had a real beating heart but a heart made entirely out of glass.

A shrill scream was echoed throughout the entire household after that piece of information became clear to the blonde.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One:

Both Elphaba and Fiyero came bolting into the bedroom as soon as they heard the scream.

"Glinda?" Fiyero called out as soon as he saw that the blonde was absent from her bed, "Where are you?"

But Elphaba had figured out where she was first, and Fiyero turned around to see that she had opened the door to the bathroom revealing his fiancée.

"Glin…" said Elphaba softly and hesitantly putting out a green hand on the blonde's arm.

The blonde woman wouldn't look at her. Those blue eyes were locked on the reflection looking back at her in the mirror. Glinda seemed frozen with shock with a hand keeping the peeled skin pushed back so she could see and the other lying limply by her side. Her eyes were wide and big filled with an array of emotions as she stared at the self-exposed wound on her body that revealed the glass heart.

"What happened to me, Elphie, Fifi?" she whispered, her voice on the verge of tears.

Her heart glimmered and shone in the light, blood pulsing in and out of it like it normally would have but it was strange because Glinda, upon a pulse check, had no pulse, "What in Oz happened?"

Her eyes flickered for half a second to Elphaba's and then they looked back at her heart.

"We were only trying to save you," said Fiyero earnestly from his place at the doorway. His eyes tried to connect with Glinda's but she looked away from him.

"I don't understand," cried the blonde as she pulled the layer of skin back a bit farther, proving to herself that her whole heart was made out of glass and that her regular heart was no longer in her body, "What happened to my heart?"

Elphaba tore the blonde's fingers away from the stitches and muttered the spell she had last recited under her breath, healing the stitched skin and patching it back up together with more stitches.

"It was nothing," she said dismissively as she let go of Glinda's hand and pulled up the blonde's nightgown.

Glinda's mouth opened wide as she glared at the green woman, "Nothing?" she shrieked, "My heart is gone Elphaba Thropp and you dismiss it as nothing! Did you do this to me? I knew it! I knew that you would bring ruin onto me! Mr. Boss said you would and I didn't believe him at first but it's true and I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance!" Glinda was beyond furious and each word to Elphaba was like a knife stab but for once Glinda did not care.

Her breathing came fast and heavy as she paused in her ranting and let silence fill the air. Elphaba stared back at the blonde with a shocked expression covering her green face, "Did you just say that Mr. Boss told you that I would bring ruin onto you?" she asked the blonde.

"That. Is. Not. The. Point!" screeched Glinda as she nearly lunged for Elphaba's throat in absolute fury when she suddenly stopped and doubled over in pain, whimpering suddenly. She clutched madly at her heart as if she was trying to tear off her skin in order to get rid of the problem and the pain that it was causing her.

"Glin?" Fiyero looked at Elphaba for guidance but the non blonde woman in the room was too busy staring intently at what was happening to Glinda, "Glin… what's wrong?"

The blonde woman's breathing hitched as she gasped repeatedly. When she didn't answer, Fiyero went over to her slowly and forced her face upwards to look at him. She looked miserable like she was in the worst bout of pain anyone had ever been through. Her lips quivered, eyes watered and emptied and then filled back up again, and her breath came in ragged hoarse gasps and coughs.

"Glin…" He looked at her with pity. Her hands that were placed against the spot on her chest where her heart was were shaking and trembling as whatever pain she was in intensified.

He had never in all his years of knowing her seen the blonde that he loved so dearly this broken, this hurt, or this furious.

Ever the gentlemen, Fiyero picked up the blonde like she weighed nothing more than air, carried and placed her on the bed. He left her for but a minute to check on Elphaba.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, real concern on his face. She looked like she was frozen, a blank expression on her face that Fiyero could not read. The incident with Glinda nearly lunging at her seemed to have done a job on Elphaba's mindset.

She nodded numbly and weakly after a moment, "Is she?"

Fiyero looked back at the blonde who was still clutching her chest in severe pain as whimpers and gasps left her lips.

"No, not really."

Elphaba looked disappointed, "Well I need to ask her about what she meant by what Mr. Boss supposedly said to her either way."

She attempted to move past him but Fiyero did not budge.

"Not now," he cautioned, "She nearly tore your face off last time, remember?"

"Yes I do, but she's vulnerable now, weak, I can get her to tell me or do anything if I like," those were the words that Elphaba had just spoken and they chilled Fiyero to the bone.

"No, not now," insisted Fiyero but Elphaba ignored him as she brushed past his shoulder and strode over to the blonde woman.

"Glinda, tell me what you meant when you said that Mr. Boss told you that I would ruin you," hissed Elphaba through her teeth as she roughly grabbed Glinda's face and forced the crying woman to look at her. At first Glinda was shocked by the rough action by who she thought had been a friend, an ally to her at least, but then she obliged with an answer.

"It was when you… you first came," replied Glinda in between gasps of sheer pain but it seemed to both Glinda and Fiyero that Elphaba did not care, "and I had left to go think things over… I met him in the woods that night accidentally of course. And he… well that Dragon Clock thingy and him told me that you would be the one thing in this world that would ruin me. At first… I thought he was referring to the attraction I had to you, that the feelings I had for you would bring ruin down on me… but now I realize that it's what you've done to me. You've turned me into a monster!" Glinda snarled as she curled up against herself and said no more.

Elphaba looked reproachfully at the blonde as she lay there shivering and trembling from pain. Elphaba felt a flash of cold, hard anger that she had felt too many times in her youth rise up inside of her.

"I didn't do that, Glinda. You always were a monster. This spell just proves to the world that you really have no heart," spat the green woman.

Glinda looked at Elphaba who in that instant looked as wicked as any human being could be and Glinda found that she had no retort.

"Elphaba…" was all Fiyero could say in response to that. He stared at her, his ears not believing what he just heard, "That's a wicked thing to say."

"But it's true," snapped Elphaba as she whirled around and faced Fiyero, "and don't you deny it." She smirked cruelly at him and then turned around to Glinda again.

"And we all are a little bit wicked sometimes, aren't we my pretty?" she crooned at Glinda who looked quite frankly petrified of Elphaba.

"I don't know what you're talking about Elphaba," she said quickly as she regained control of her breathing and stared at her.

"Elphaba, you're not acting like yourself… what's gotten into you?" asked Fiyero as a concerned expression came onto his face.

"Wouldn't you like to know…" she growled at him fiercely. Fiyero was baffled by this sudden change of demeanor from Elphaba. He had no idea what had caused it but the one thing he did know was that Elphaba was deadly frightening when angry, she acted almost like how a wicked witch would have portrayed in a fairytale.

"Elphaba…" Fiyero put a hand on her shoulder and Elphaba felt the weight of his hand instantly, "Let's talk about this… something is clearly bothering you."

Elphaba rolled her eyes, "You're too brainless to figure it out…"

Her words stung the prince, "Try me," he said coldly as his eyes bore into hers.

If Elphaba had been amused or even a bit intimidated by his retort she didn't show it in her face. Her expression remained passive and emotionless as she stared at him.

"That would be too easy, you're already too blinded by your love for Glinda to see anything else in this world."

Elphaba shoved herself off of the bed and Fiyero's hand fell from her shoulder limply. Glinda and Fiyero both stared at her in wonder at what in the world had gotten into their newfound friend.

"Elphie… wait," called out Glinda. Her chest pains had ceased for the moment, which Glinda was more than grateful for, and she had finally summoned up enough strength to fully sit up and look at Elphaba in the eye.

The circus woman looked at the blonde woman who had a soft pleading glaze in her eyes, "I didn't mean what I said… I'm just upset and scared and horrified that this could have happened to me. You did the best you could and I'm grateful that you saved me."

It was a good apology as any and Glinda and Fiyero watched as the mean glint in Elphaba's eyes dimmed and the horridly wicked streak in her subside.

"You're welcome," she said tartly as she quickly glanced at the blonde woman, "But don't expect me to save you next time. It's not good to have a reputation as being the damsel in distress all the time," she remarked with a slight smile that showed the two residences of the house that their friend was all right now.

"I agree," said Glinda from her spot on the bed, "But I bet it's not better having a reputation as a wicked witch," Glinda half meant it as a joke and a stab towards Elphaba to open up about what had just happened to her. But the green woman just smirked at her. The tension in the air thickened as both Glinda and Fiyero wanted to pounce into an interrogation of the green woman's strange and bizarre sudden change of actions. Neither of them could figure out a reasonable explanation for Elphaba's quick change of mood but they both agreed silently that they didn't ever want to deal with a cross and very wicked Elphaba ever again.

"I don't think that's true… sometimes it's better to live up to people's expectations rather than defy them and fulfill your own. Give them what they want so to speak," said Elphaba gently with an edge of her voice that gave a hint as to maybe there was something dark in her past that had given her such abnormal ideas about reputations.

"Well I say bully to that. I disappointed my parents one too many times to count when I got kicked out of every school that I went to but they still love me," Fiyero admitted.

A glint flashed in Elphaba's eyes, "Some people aren't that lucky… or that brave."

"You should rest, don't want those heart pains to get any worse by getting sentimental and all with this foolish talk of our pasts," said Elphaba sternly to Glinda as she opened the door halfway to leave.

"She's right," agreed Fiyero after a moment. He placed a caring hand over one of Glinda's hands, kissed it, and let her be.

Fiyero exited the room where he had left Glinda in and looked around for Elphaba, to find that she was nowhere to be found. It was like she had disappeared in thin air.

The prince shook his head as he found the hallway to appear empty. But what he didn't know was that Elphaba was hiding against the far corner's inner wall, hating herself that she had let her childhood inner demons get the best of her, causing her to lash out at the two people in the world who were trying to help her.

Her father's words came into her head, words that had been viciously yelled at Elphaba since the second she had been born and when her father had realized she was green.

A sinned child, the devil's daughter, a monstrosity unlike anyone had ever seen before… Elphaba ran a hand through her hair, crunching bunches of it in her grasp as she remembered the horrid memories of her past that had caused her to break today. It wasn't just because the cold hard truth that Fiyero didn't love her had broken her heart, it was the terrifying memories that had been stirred up when Glinda had screamed at her and nearly lunged for her.

Elphaba shuddered and she remembered every beating she had received, every blow that had shattered her skin by her own father during her childhood. When she had ran away, those some odd years ago she had promised herself that she never would return. No one wanted her back anyways, they had probably all forgotten about her by now.

Back home, Elphaba knew her place. Even in the circus the green woman knew where she stood amongst the ranks of the performers, and even more than that she knew where she stood in society. But now, with Glinda and Fiyero they didn't judge her or try and force her to conform and be someone she was not, or at least now they didn't judge her.

Elphaba peered around the corner just in time to see Fiyero retreat back into the bedroom with Glinda. She quietly wiped away the few tears that had managed to leak from her eyes and had left burns and scars on her face in a line straight down from her eyes to her cheeks. The water left slight burns on her fingertips, something that was tender to the touch and reminded Elphaba why she very rarely cried.

Letting soft breaths exhale from her lungs, she reflected on her behavior towards Glinda and Fiyero today. She had been quite terrifying, if Elphaba really thought about it in hindsight. Something in her had snapped, like it had many times before and Elphaba was just glad that this time it hadn't ended like some of the other incidents had… Sometimes Elphaba just lost control, like the magic that she had inside of her just blew up, and other times where her emotions took full control. This time, Elphaba's emotions and memories had overshadowed her judgment and that scared the woman because what if it happened again… and what if Elphaba couldn't pull herself out of that wicked streak that sometimes consumed her… Elphaba didn't even want to think of the possibilities if she lost control of her judgment and of her magic. It could be even more disastrous than her worst nightmare.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two:

"I wonder what that was all about," mused Glinda as she shifted under the covers of the bed, having made a miraculous recovery from the severe pain she had been in just twenty minutes ago.

Fiyero knew exactly what she was talking about but he made no attempt at a response as he reluctantly closed the door and fully came into the room.

"Whatever it was," continued Glinda as she nitpicked at the blanket in front of her, "It certainly was terrifying. The poor thing… she must have been through a lot." Glinda's heart ached as she remembered the pain and hurt she had discovered hiding deep within those brown irises of Elphaba's eyes.

"Maybe it was her family," Fiyero came to that assumption in a hollow voice, almost if he was trying to put together the pieces of Elphaba's life himself instead of letting the green girl do it for him.

Glinda's eyes flashed to his face, the circles of sea water of her irises were wavering as she pondered over whether that statement could be true or not.

"Maybe it was the circus," she suggested as a retort, "Either way, we don't know for sure…" she grew very cross inside when he didn't look at her, "And you shouldn't spend your entire life trying to figure it out."

Her words had bitterness to them and Fiyero picked up on it.

"But if we could figure out what's wrong then we could help her," fought Fiyero as he finally looked at Glinda with determination in his eyes.

She felt his gaze strongly on her skin and a feeling of guilt seemed to wash over her entire body. The letter that she had wrote and had falsely signed it from Fiyero to Frexspar The Godly came to mind when Glinda thought of what could be wrong with Elphaba.

The blonde was still suspicious that Fiyero seemed to go around acting as if he didn't know who the green woman was, though with him being a prince and all Glinda realized that he probably didn't know much about important, well to do social figures or that he just didn't care. Glinda didn't consider herself to be worldly but she had at one point in her short life had considered the world to know her. Her family had run in good circles before her father had died, and he had left the Uplands with a good reputation and more than enough knowledge of the inhabitants of Oz to gossip about for the rest of time.

"I guess we could," she answered him softly but in her mind she was thinking the exact opposite. It had just been three days ago since Glinda had sent that letter off to Frexspar and the blonde hoped with all of her might that the maid that she had given it to had lost it or had forgotten to mail it.

Fiyero looked at her and the look he gave her was so simple, so clear in its needs and wants, so natural and beautiful all at the same time that it metaphorically broke her now glass heart.

Glinda felt wretchedly guilty for things that she did not, at this point in time, want to admit to anyone in the household. One was about the letter and the fact that Glinda had signed it from Fiyero was even worse, Glinda had a womanly intuition that if Frexspar did come then it would not be the happiest of welcomes and reunions. The other thing was something that even Glinda herself could not believe that she had done. It had been done in a time of desperation, a time of loneliness and despair. The act that she committed was far worse than what she was trying to convince herself that it was in her head. It was plain wrong… but after everything that had happened at that point in time it beckoned to the blonde, it was suddenly irresistible and all the more desirable with that person that Glinda hoped she would never see again.

"Are you alright?"

Her eyes snapped up to meet his quickly. A clench of the bed sheets lightly shifted the covers slightly towards her small form. Glinda couldn't tell him the truth, could she? But then again it was bound to come out in time… But as Glinda looked at Fiyero, that lovable, beautiful, caring man, she couldn't find the words to tell him what had happened after he had left in search of Elphaba. She couldn't tell him of her wrongdoings no matter how hard she tried.

So instead, she pressed a smile onto her face and waved off the fading of her coloring and her absentmindedness as nothing.

"Perfectly," she answered in a chipper tone, the color returning fast to her cheeks causing a faint blush to rise up in her face. Her eyes twinkled falsely but she knew he couldn't see past her façade, he never could and he never would.

Guilt seemed to be burning, scorching through her body rapidly and Glinda found that it was extremely difficult to even look at Fiyero and be in the same room as him. She felt like a huge light was shining down on her and that the whole world was waiting with open ears to hear her confession.

She bit her lip and felt her fiancé's gaze on her face in concentration. The thoughts of Elphaba's father arriving and Fiyero finding out about the truth about what she had done while he was away was tugging at her conscious, nearly screaming at her to confess and to own up to what she had done. But she was Glinda Upland nee Tiggular (or Tiggular officially if her wedding even happened) and she had never done any wrong in her own eyes, or anything that she had wanted to admit.

"Glinda…I wanted to clear something up with you, about what happened with your heart," Fiyero chose his words carefully as if saying one wrong word would bring on a screaming fit.

Glinda said nothing to him, only sat there brewing in her own inner turmoil of hell with her conscious.

Fiyero didn't wait for a reaction, he babbled on and on as if he just wanted to get this off his chest.

"I couldn't lose you," he said simply as his brown eyes which were full of love landed on her face, "I just couldn't. Elphaba told me, assured me that you would get better but I had this self created doubt and paranoia that you weren't going to make it in the bottom of my heart that grew bigger and bigger until I was practically begging Elphaba to save you. I didn't have any faith, any hope that you would be alright and the thought of living without you was horrid and wretched and I knew that I just had to save you." He lowered his head in shame and regret.

"I just didn't realize that it could end like this," he whispered faintly, mournfully.

"Fiyero…" Glinda meant to protest; to ease his grief but she thought quickly and realized that she probably shouldn't if she intended to tell him the truth.

"I need to tell you something," that conscious was getting to her, forcing her to spill out the words needed to tell the story of what happened though she'd rather have them disappear altogether, "But you're not going to like it."

"What is it?" he asked gently. His eyes searched her face for an answer when she stayed silent for a while.

"Glin…" he exhaled as he linked his hand with one of hers, "What is it?"

She swallowed hard, kept her eyes down as tears bloomed in them, and took deep breaths to calm herself.

Each breath expanded and then contracted her chest and Glinda didn't notice the dull pain that had began to build up underneath the skin of where her new heart was until it was too late. She had taken too long to calm herself with simple breaths.

Her eyes, which she hadn't realized she had closed, suddenly flew open and a ragged gasp escaped her lips as her breath hitched. The dull pain intensified in seconds and suddenly Glinda found herself in unbearable agony as her body tried to adapt to its change of heart, literally.

"Damn it," she cursed silently as she looked up at Fiyero, blinking back hot, fresh tears that still ran down her cheeks.

Her hand crushed his in its grasp but Fiyero didn't seem to care.

"Hey, hey it's okay," he said soothingly as he wiped away her tears, "Just relax. You've obviously worked yourself up too much."

Glinda huffed when her body actually allowed oxygen to pass through her body and grew teary-eyed even when the pain had subsided. Her head was buried in Fiyero's chest, her golden hair hiding the tears that were spilling on her cheeks and his shirt. His warm arms were wrapped around her cold, without a pulse body. Her delicate, lady-like hands were pressed into his back almost as if she would never let him go.

Fiyero could be brainless sometimes but when it came to comforting the blonde he knew exactly what to do. An idea popped into his head and he acted on it impulsively.

Picking her up without a word as to what he was doing Fiyero carried her into the lavish bathroom that gleamed like pearls in the light. The pristine all-white bathroom was almost as big as Glinda's closet and Fiyero gently placed the blonde on top of the counter.

"Fiyero… what in the world are you-" Glinda began as she stared at him as if he had gone mad but he pressed a hand to her mouth softly and just smiled at her.

Her suspicions still in her mind, Glinda watched quietly as Fiyero turned the knob on the bathtub and let the water run till it was almost full. Then he added in a huge portion of the bubbles solution.

Delighted, a smile appeared on the blonde's face as her pain lessened and lessened.

"Fifi, you didn't have to do this for me," she said honestly. Her eyes floated to the bubbly tub and she was touched, moved even with a pinch of guilt starting in her heart.

"I wanted to," said Fiyero in a gentleman's manner as he extended a hand towards her graciously. Glinda took it and hopped off the counter, her bare feet hitting the tiles with a slight smack.

"Fiyero," she didn't finish her sentence. He had pulled her too close for her to finish her thought. The blonde found herself lost and immersed in his eyes; those eyes that were exactly like Elphaba's… and the complete opposite of her own.

His lips were pressed against hers in a matter of seconds. Surprised, since she had been so focused on his eyes, Glinda stood there for a moment while Fiyero's arms wrapped and enclosed around her petite body. Then it hit her and her hands found themselves at his back, tugging him closer to her. This kiss seemed genuine, real, and most of all heavenly. This was the kiss that Glinda had been waiting for Fiyero to give her. It reassured her faith in him and melted away all of her previous doubts. But at the same time as those good feelings were swirling around inside of her, the guilt was becoming harder to suppress. Even still Glinda did not want this kiss to end. It was beautiful to say the least. It was like one of those kisses that one only ever saw in movies, with each movement perfect and precise and the world melting away around them into nothing.

But the world came back too soon and Glinda opened her eyes when she realized that Fiyero was no longer kissing her.

"Thank you," she said quietly to him. A smile appeared on his face and it caused Glinda to smile as well.

"No thanks needed here Miss, I'm not done quite yet."

Confusion spread over Glinda's face and she narrowed her eyes at him in puzzlement.

"Fiyero," she sighed, half frustrated with him for being so secretive though she could clearly tell what he was going to do.

"Step this way Miss, your own private bath awaits," announced Fiyero as he pretended to be some sort of herald.

Glinda couldn't help but giggle and smile. It was just so sweet. This Fiyero was the one she had fallen in love with, this Fiyero was the man that she wanted to spend her life with.

She dropped her nightgown and undergarments in a matter of seconds and was assisted into the tub of warm bubbly water. Slowly and with help Glinda lowered herself into the tub, the foamy substance at the surface slowly covering her body until all but her head and hair was submerged in it.

"I thought that this was be relaxing for you, something to keep you calm while your body adjusts to your new heart," explained Fiyero as he dimmed the lights. Classical Gillikin music floated around the air from the record player Fiyero had set up in the corner of the room.

"Fiyero…" Glinda didn't know how to express what she felt to him in words. It was merely impossible. She was so afraid that the truth that she had been trying so hard to keep hidden would suddenly just blurt out of her mouth at any given moment.

In the end her question came as a surprise to both of them.

"Do you still want to marry me?"

Her voice carried through the air as small, weak, and delicate. Fiyero could sense the fragile state of her question and he answered in a heartbeat.

"Of course I do," he said as he arrived at the tub once again. He kissed one of her hands that was dangling over the porcelain edge of the tub.

"Even after everything I've done?" asked Glinda hesitantly. And what I've done that you don't know about, she added in her head afterwards.

"Yes," he said after a beat with his eyes staring into hers, "even after everything you've done, after everything we've both done. I'm not saying that this marriage will be easy but I love you and that's all that matters."

"What about Elphaba?" the blonde asked.

"What about her?" Fiyero didn't know what Glinda was trying to get at.

The blonde squirmed a bit beneath the bubbles and the water trying to collect her thoughts.

"I mean what are we going to do about her? It's clear that we both have an attraction to her but I mean if we get married I don't want to worry about you having an affair with her behind my back…"

Glinda regretted those words as soon as she said them because what she had said had hit too close to home. More guilt and regret began to pour into her soul, promising to crush and damage it until she told him the truth.

Fiyero took a long time to answer and that only accelerated the guilt that was tearing apart Glinda's soul.

"We let her stay here, being the good people that we are, and treat her as a guest and nothing more. She is our friend," he said finally.

Glinda nodded, she could live with being Elphaba's friend as long as he could too.

"And I swear to you right now," started Fiyero as he got down on one knee still holding her hand, "that I will never be unfaithful to you as long as you swear that you will never be unfaithful to me."

This was it, the time to come clean and admit what she had done. But Glinda was the worst kind of coward and she kept her silence about the whole thing and lied to him.

"I swear," she echoed.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out her wedding ring, the one that he had thrown on the floor in a fit of anger over finding out that Glinda had kissed Elphaba.

"I thought that it would be fitting if I put this back on now," he said with an easy smile. Gulping back the regret and heartache she knew she would face later, she put a smile on her face and stuck out her left hand.

She decided to just go with it, let the guilt melt away for at least tonight… she already knew she was going to hell anyways especially after this. There would be no happily ever after, or even an afterlife for her that she knew quite well.

She watched as Fiyero slid the ring onto the appropriate finger and looked as it glistened and sparkled in the low light. She smiled once it was set on her finger and suddenly found the whole atmosphere in the room exceedingly romantic and seductive. The lights were dim, the door was shut, and they were totally and completely alone.

The blonde shifted upwards in the bathtub, exposing her breasts and slightly pulling her hand away from Fiyero's grasp causing the prince to look at her.

She watched as his eyes grazed her body, as they watched the droplets of water slid down her skin and back into the tub.

"Fifi, do you know why I bought this bathtub?" asked Glinda. Her question seemed odd and out of place but Fiyero answered it nonetheless.

"Because it was pretty and shiny?" he guessed never taking his eyes off of her glistening body.

A smile cracked on her youthful face as she shook her head, those not-wet curls bouncing and twisting in the air.

"No, but I don't disagree with you. It is a very pretty and shiny tub…" she paused. A hand reached out slowly and cupped the side of Fiyero's face. She lowered his face to her height and whispered in his ear, "But the real reason I bought it… was because it fits two people in here."

Fiyero's clothes were already off before she even finished the last part of that sentence.

Splashing and endless giggling filled the air soon afterwards.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three:

In hindsight, hours after their private bubble bath Fiyero and Glinda realized that that incident was probably not the most relaxing thing for them to be doing especially with Glinda's condition. But it was definitely something that neither of them regretted doing.

Now as they lay there in their bed limbs entangled in limbs, the prince and his princess were finally at peace with one another.

Glinda could hear Fiyero's light breathing as he slept besides her. Her eyes never left his face, as she lay curled into his body. Her fingers danced up to his face as she softly caressed that precious skin of his.

Her eyes were brimmed with tears as she watched him sleep, she knew how much he would hate her once he found out the truth and she never wanted to see hatred in his eyes ever again.

But it was inevitable that he would find out, and that he would be enraged and furious with her because of it. There was nothing Glinda could do to stop it. She only hoped that when that time came that Fiyero would remember these moments, the tender, sweet loving moments they had shared and act on the fact that all those good moments heavily outnumbered the bad ones.

Glinda did not want to go back to being the person that she was before she met Fiyero. She didn't want to go back to being the stupid, vain, silly little thing that no one took seriously. After Glinda had met Fiyero, he had shown her out of her sheltered and privileged world and presented her into his world; which had a greater positive impact on the blonde than either of them could have expected. Truth be told, Glinda actually became nicer, more thoughtful, and kinder after she met Fiyero.  
She realized that the world did not revolve around her, that the world was actually a crueler and darker place than what she had imagined it to be. She was lucky, very lucky to have found a man like Fiyero and had snatched him up before anyone else could say one word to him.

Even still, Glinda was absolutely paranoid about losing him and his affection for her, something her mother had driven into her ever since she became of age to have been courted. Her mother used to say that if Glinda weren't the prettiest, caring, thoughtful, multi-tasking wife then she would lose Fiyero in a heartbeat and that terrified Glinda. Her mother's words had a great impact on how she lived her life with Fiyero ever since the two had moved into together shortly after quitting college.

Once Fiyero had proposed to the blonde; which had taken place just short of a year ago, the two had realized that they really didn't need to finish school though both parents from either party severely disagreed and they both dropped out from Shiz University. For Glinda or Galinda as she had been back then, Shiz had been merely a worldly experience, a brush with commoners and the wealthy alike for only a short period of time. The blonde had grown bored of the constant academic pressure, which she failed miserably to uphold, and the mindlessness of her so called friends.

It was clear then, at least to Glinda, that school was not meant for the likes of her or Fiyero. They were too good for it, meant for better things like becoming Queen and King of The Vinkus someday.

Their lives were meaningless being stuck in a stuffy classroom with young adults who would copulate with each other just of the heck of it, and barely passed the courses by the skins of their necks.

Glinda always saw herself ahead of all those people, ahead in life, meant for a greater purpose. When she was little, she used to pretend that she was the ruler of Oz and the citizens (the other, less wealthy children of Pertha Hills) would bow down to her and call her Glinda The Good after her saint namesake.

But now those childish dreams were dashed and- Fiyero suddenly shifted next to her, causing her thoughts to scatter out of her head quickly.

He murmured sleepily to her, "I love you…"

Glinda smiled. Though he didn't say a name, she assumed that he was talking to her and that caused her to fall even more in love with him.

She knew she should be mad at him, after all he was partly responsible for giving her this glass heart but Glinda could never be truly mad at Fiyero. She could be furious with him for days on end, she could scream at him and throws things in fits of anger, and she could give him the cold shoulder when she wanted to but never in her life had she ever hated or had been utterly mad at Fiyero.

Glinda also knew that she should be mad at Elphaba and that she was. She was mad but there was no hatred for the green woman. It was strange, at first Glinda had been slightly repulsed and freaked out by Elphaba's presence but now she seemed to prefer it.

While her mind was on the subject of Elphaba the blonde briefly wondered where she had gone. Lifting herself slowly from underneath the covers as to not wake Fiyero Glinda stood up and decided that she would go seek out the green woman herself.

Shifting the flimsy black lace nightgown and matching bathrobe she had on around her body, Glinda made light and quick footsteps out of the room and entered Elphaba's room after her two short knocks were met with a muffled reply of "come in."

Elphaba was sitting on her bed, a nightgown covering up some of that beautiful emerald skin, and a book hiding her crooked nose.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," said Glinda as she closed the door behind her and sat down gracefully in an armchair diagonal from the bed.

"It's alright," said Elphaba as she put the book down on the bed and looked at Glinda observing her silently, "Is something the matter? You look quite distressed…"

Glinda was shocked that Elphaba could read her that easily but then again she had never been hard to figure out.

She ruffled her golden hair with a hand in thought as her eyes stared blankly at the wall for a few moments.

"I've done something, something that I'm not proud of, something I never should have done in the first place and I'm afraid of what Fiyero will do when he finds out," she said finally.

Elphaba peered at her, "What exactly do you mean?"

Glinda kept her breath in her chest for a long time before answering.

"That day that you left, when you stormed out Fiyero told me it was over and left to go find you. I was distraught and feeling worthless and Fiyero's friend, Cherrystone… Traper Cherrystone stopped by with papers… and well, I always knew he liked me and so I just went with it and next thing… next thing I knew we had done it and it didn't feel right but I was so furious that Fiyero had ended things with him and Cherrystone was there to comfort, to get my mind off of it and I didn't resist…"

"That was the soldier I saw leaving here, wasn't it? That was Cherrystone?" Elphaba looked to Glinda for an answer and the blonde nodded weakly, tears in her eyes.

"I'm so angry at myself, Elphie. I can't believe I could have been so stupid and so careless. I didn't mean to- I mean I did but I really didn't want to and I just needed someone there and-" She broke off into sobs. She covered her head with her arms in her lap and cried. Every part of her body shook with unbearable resentment and regret over her own selfish actions towards what happened.

Elphaba said nothing for the longest time. She did move from the bed. She did not even blink. She just stared at Glinda in silence while she cried.

"Elphie, I don't know what to do!" wailed the blonde woman in between heavy sobs, "I cheated on him and I don't even have the courage to tell him!"

Glinda suddenly flung herself out of the chair and hastily into Elphaba's arms who embraced her after a moment of shock. The blonde's tears burned her bare skin but Elphaba ignored it. She gently brushed a hand through the woman's locks in comfort.

"Glinda…" said Elphaba after a while, "You need to tell him."

"I already told him about us, how can I tell him about Cherrystone? He'd hate me Elphie! He'd hate me even more than he hated me for kissing you!"

Glinda grew hysterical as she clung to Elphaba, blubbering and crying as her head stayed hidden from Elphaba's view.

"Why can't I just make up my mind? Why do I have to be so fickle with who I love?" moaned Glinda quietly.

"The heart's a fickle thing, my sweet. It's a mess until we finally figure it out," said Elphaba.

"I can't figure out what I want," she finally confessed. Her mind flashed back to the times during Fiyero and her private bubble bath where Fiyero had turned into Elphaba in her imagination. She hadn't even told Fiyero of those musings of her mind. She hadn't even really embraced them herself.

"Was Cherrystone just nothing?" Elphaba asked once the blonde's crying had lessened considerably.

Glinda looked up at her, "Yes," and there was an honesty that rang true to those words, "He was nothing."

Elphaba's eyes stared into hers, "Was I nothing?"

That surprised the blonde. She hadn't thought of her kiss with Elphaba ever since Fiyero had 'ended' his relationship with her. But now, sitting next to Elphaba Glinda pondered over her question.

"No, you are most certainly not nothing," she replied earnestly.

"And Fiyero?"

"He was never nothing and he never will be," Glinda replied hastily but truthfully.

Elphaba let out a long sigh, "Then it seems as if you are torn in your quest to find happiness, Miss Glinda."

Her words echoed in Glinda's head.

"It doesn't make any sense, how can one love two people at the same time?"

"It happens," responded Elphaba dryly.

Glinda sensed that statement hinted that Elphaba had been a witness to such a thing and though she wanted to press upon it the blonde resisted asking the woman about her past.

"That can't possibly work though, can it?" Glinda looked quizzically at her emerald friend, "I mean in the end there will always be someone that you tend to favor…"

She stopped herself right there before she went any further with that thought.

"And who would be that someone for you, Glinda?" Elphaba seemed to be all questions today with hardly any answers to save her life. Glinda was getting rather irritated that she hadn't pointed Glinda in one direction or the other, that she hadn't told her which path was wrong and which path was right.

"I don't know," cried the blonde desperate for a break from these relentless questions, "With Cherrystone eliminated from the equation it leaves you and Fiyero, and I can't choose between either of you!"

"You're going to have to, it's inevitable my sweet," said Elphaba finally.

Glinda looked at her with her hands crunched into her own golden hair, desperate and hopeless, "How?"

Elphaba sighed and shrugged, giving the blonde no answer yet again.

"Only you can do that, I can't tell you how to choose. You're just going to wake up one day and know who you're going to want to spend the rest of your life with."

"Can't I just love both of you at the same time?" wailed Glinda the decision weighing heavily on her heart and soul. She didn't know why she was as attracted to Fiyero as she was to Elphaba. It disgusted the tiniest part of her that she was in love with two people, one woman and one male, and the fact that she couldn't choose which one she loved with her whole heart. Glinda was starting to wonder if something was wrong with her.

"No. I doubt that will go over well with Fiyero or myself," said Elphaba tartly.

Glinda half shrieked in frustration as she shifted away from Elphaba to wallow in self-pity.

Elphaba stared at her for a while. She was half amused with this heart-felt attempt from Glinda at trying to figure out with who she was really in love with and half irritated with it. She just wanted Glinda to choose someone and at this point Elphaba didn't really care if it was herself or not.

She just wanted this battle over herself and Fiyero to be over. She wanted, no needed to get out of here. She had already caused too much damage in this household for it to ever be repaired.

"You need to start by telling Fiyero," she advised after a few moments of quiet, "You need to tell him that you ended it with Cherrystone and that you are sorry and then go from there."

Elphaba was aggravated with herself more than anyone and it showed in her voice. She didn't understand why she felt the need to help Glinda win back Fiyero but she felt compelled to do so. Even if it meant breaking her own heart or dying Elphaba felt like she would go to the ends of Oz for Glinda and for Fiyero.

Elphaba was stuck in the middle between them. The funny thing was that she loved both of them and she seemed to be the common denominator between the two people.

"I didn't though," Glinda's voice was small and shaky; "I didn't end it with him. I told him to come back another day…"

Elphaba could have slapped her for being so stupid and so selfish but she didn't, though she was more than sorely tempted.

"Start there then," she said in a clipped voice.

The blonde looked up from her crying state. Elphaba didn't know what she felt towards the beautiful blonde woman at the moment but it wasn't pity. She inclined her head towards Glinda when she suddenly stopped herself and yanked her face away from the blonde's. No, no she told herself, just pretend that you don't have feelings for either of them and then get the hell out of here before anything else happens.

Several minutes later Glinda spoke in a soft whispery tone, "You're right. You're always right, Elphaba." She stood up to leave, with one glance back at Elphaba, "Thank you."

Elphaba nodded briskly but kept her distance away from Glinda.

It was then while looking at Elphaba that Glinda realized something about Elphaba and herself and this whole situation. Elphaba and herself, and Fiyero for that matter too were all fighting with themselves, torn in their conquest for happiness in a world where one rarely finds it. They were aberrations, all of them. Each in love with two different people. Fiyero in love with Elphaba and Glinda. Glinda in love with Elphaba and Fiyero. And last but not least Elphaba in love with Glinda and Fiyero.

It was a huge mess that was about to explode soon right in front of their own eyes. The seconds were ticking away and soon everything would come to the surface in the ugliest way possible.

Glinda could only hope that the land of Oz would remain intact after the truth comes out.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four:

The long walk from Elphaba's room back to their bedroom seemed even longer than usual. Dread and fear filled the blonde as she took one nervous step after the other, inching closer and closer towards the door.

Suddenly Glinda heard movement and she whipped around, frightened. Maybe it was Elphaba coming after her, or Maybelle or one of the other maids lurking around the hallway.

It was neither. A shadowy figure leaned against the wall and looked at her, a hand reaching out towards her and snaking its way around her waist, pulling her towards it before she had any time to react.

"Miss me?" he said and once Glinda was close enough she realized who this was exactly.

"Traper," she exclaimed half in fright and half in shock. She hadn't expected the soldier/lover back so soon.

He smiled as he inched her body closer to his, lust gleaming hungrily in his blue eyes, "Because I certainly missed you," he purred as his lips circled her ear. Glinda could tell that he had been drinking for she smelled it on his breath.

"Cherrystone, go home. It's over," said Glinda simply but commandingly. She tried unsuccessfully to maneuver her way out of his arms but he held his grip.

"What do you mean?" he implored her. She could tell that he was not happy about this.

"I made a mistake, sleeping with you and it needs to be over," demanded the blonde.

"Fiyero will never know," he whispered in her ear as he tensed up and locked his grip around her tiny waist.

"Yes, he will because I'm going to come clean to him right now about us."

Glinda had said the wrong choice of words and Cherrystone's reaction to them was beyond frightening, it was downright terrifying.

"No, you're not!" he roared at her, breaking the tranquil peace of the late night, "You're not going to make a fool out of me, Glinda! You are not going to break this off!"

"I am though," she fired back at him, a steel edge to her voice. She felt better already; telling Cherrystone that she wanted to end this, though she imagined telling Fiyero was going to be a lot harder.

"Then you really are what people say about you," Cherrystone spat at her though he still did not let her leave his grasp.

Glinda's look softened, "What?" she managed to get out before hurt swelled through her heart.

"They say that you're a beautiful girl but that you are one hell of a tease. And they were right, you're just a little pretty tease," he mocked her horribly.

She felt tears rising to the surface of her eyes, "I'm not though," she pitifully tried to defend herself but it was no use.

Her one-time lover scoffed and suddenly and quite roughly pushed her up against the wall that was behind them.

"You knew how much I liked you, how much I fancied you… and you led me on for just one time and now you're telling me it's over?" snarled Cherrystone. His hands starting roughly pulling at her clothes which she tried to keep on her body, "You dare sleep with me, and tell me how good, how nice of a lover I am and then you go back to him, to Fiyero? Are you sure he even loves you anymore?"

Glinda tried to get in protests in between his raging rants but it was useless. She was more focused on trying to get his hands off of her than with arguing with him over pointless facts.

"Fiyero, somebody help!" she cried when Cherrystone got rougher, tearing the buttons and claps of her nightgown away.

Suddenly and thankfully on Glinda's part Fiyero came bursting through the bedroom door out into the hallway, baseball bat in hand ready to swing at whoever the intruder was that dare hurt his fiancée.

Fiyero stopped short of swinging at the figure when his eyes landed on it and he recognized who it was.

"Traper?" His voice was full of confusion as he watched Glinda and his best friend rearranged themselves, far apart from each other, and fixed their clothes.

"What's going on here?" demanded the prince, his voice shaking with absolute rage and fury.

Glinda and Cherrystone both looked at Fiyero, who stared at both of them with a hurt expression in his eyes.

"What is going on here?" he repeated himself in a softer tone.

"I can explain, Fiyero," piped up Glinda after a moment of peace.

Fiyero seemed to ignore his fiancée and he continued to glower at Traper Cherrystone, his best friend.

"What were you doing with Glinda? Were you trying to hurt her?" With each question the prince raised his baseball bat higher and higher into the air.

"No, nothing of the sort…" Cherrystone paused before he revealed the truth, "I'm having an affair with your fiancée, Fiyero."

The baseball bat dropped to the floor as Fiyero's hands went numb and lax.

"What?" he managed to get out while staring furiously at Glinda.

The air was so tense that somebody could have cut through it with a knife. Everyone seemed to be standing still, frozen in time, except for Cherrystone who continued to speak.

"I'm screwing Glinda, Fiyero. It all started that day that you told her it was over in some pathetic attempt to kindle love between you and that green abomination that you're having here. I came here looking for Glinda. She was upset and I welcomed her with open arms… in your own bedroom."

Fiyero's heart felt like it had been brutally stabbed a million times a few minutes ago and that his body had just begun to feel the pain that was forming in his heart. It spread throughout him like a fever, claiming every part of him.

"Is-is this true?" he sputtered out, his gaze still on Cherrystone but between the three of them they all knew that he was talking to Glinda.

As for the blonde her throat felt like it was being choked and crushed by an invisible hand. She couldn't summon enough air to her lungs and she felt light-headed with a mix of grief. The one thing she could do was nod, and so she did.

The motion of Glinda's head had confirmed Fiyero's worst fears. He felt rage and angry, pity and humiliation all build up inside of him rapidly.

"But you're my best friend," Fiyero pointed that out as he looked at Cherrystone who was grinning smugly. All Fiyero wanted to do in that moment was wipe that grin off of his friend's face. The smile gave off a look as if Cherrystone had accomplished something that Fiyero could have never dreamed of doing and that boiled Fiyero's blood in raging, angry heat.

"But first and foremost I'm a soldier of your army. A lonely soldier who has spent countless months and hours away from a woman's flesh and company. A lustful soldier who's always had an eye for your fiancée you just weren't paying attention…"

Fiyero's warm brown eyes hardened as he finally looked at Glinda

"You disgust me," he said spitefully to her. His words were a world-wind of pain and hurt and they smashed into Glinda's heart like a bullet.

'Fiyero," gasped Glinda as tears streaked down her face, "Fiyero…" she wordlessly trailed off as he tore his eyes away from her.

His heart had replaced the spot where Glinda had been with a cold and loathsome anger that consumed the prince. He was in a rage, at Cherrystone and at Glinda, at both of them and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

"Oh please stop being so dramatic, Fiyero. Honestly all I did was have your fiancée… at least I didn't have my way with that green freak you have kept in here."

Fiyero snapped at that comment. His self-control was gone after that remark. His whole body tensed up, shaking with fury and he picked up the baseball bat. He held it above his head as if to strike his friend.

"Leave! Leave now and never come back into this house! Consider this your dismissal, Commander Cherrystone," Fiyero mocked his title, "And if I ever see you step one toe into my house again I will not hold back on smashing in your skull!"

Traper Cherrystone stood there for a moment in shock. But as realization slowly sunk into his head, he began to leave cursing under his breath the entire way.

"Don't think this is over, Fiyero. I will have my revenge one way or another." That was the dark threat that Cherrystone had left floating in the house as he went away and it was a frightening one.

Fiyero stood there with the bat still in the air until he suddenly brought it down and sent in whirling through the air where it finally cracked in two against the wall behind him.

The sound of the bat splitting had jolted Glinda out of her numb trance. Her eyes tried to connect with his but there was such an intense burning hatred flaming in Fiyero's eyes that Glinda found that she could not look at them for long periods of time.

"Fiyero… that wasn't how I wanted to tell you what happened," Glinda got out in between sniffles and dry sobs.

Fiyero scoffed as his eyes blazed at her, "I'm glad I found out this way though," he said bitterly as his foot sent the broken pieces of the bat sliding across the carpet away from him, "Your version would have been sugar coated with lies upon lies. At least this way I knew I was finding out the truth."

"Fiyero," her voice broke, "I'm so, so, so sorry!" she sobbed as she took one step towards him. But it was like they were dancing a dance… and he took one step away from her.

"I don't want to hear it, Glin," he said softly, wearily, "I'm done. I'm done with you and your antics. I don't love you and I don't want to be tied to you anymore."

The blonde's breath hitched in her chest and she felt as if she was about to faint. Her vision swam and her body became weak and frail.

"What, no!" she exclaimed in a heartbroken cry. She felt her heart splitting in two. Deep cracks were separating the fragile material of her newfound heart, wedging shards and pieces away from each other as they broke off and dug into the inside of her body.

Glinda didn't know whether the pieces had torn through anything or what but all she knew was that her heart was shattering into pieces.

She nearly collapsed when she felt her heart break; the immense pain radiating from inside of her was growing to be too much for the weak blonde woman. She barely managed a helpless cry to Fiyero, but to her horror and despair he had already left when she wasn't looking.

Gasping and quivering in the worst pain that was shooting through her body, Glinda slid against the wallpaper and crumbled to the floor.

She stayed there; silently biting back screams of pain and torment while her heart was literally breaking in two.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Maybelle had woken up suddenly because she had heard the commotion in the hallway upstairs. Even though her bedroom, and the other maid's bedrooms, were downstairs in a forgotten hallway Maybelle's hearing was quite good. She had distinctly heard shouting and yelling from three different voices. Curious to find out the reason for all the screaming, Maybelle tiptoed out of her room, down the hallway, up the stairs to find the lady of the house, Lady Glinda, crumbled against the wall sobbing her heart out.

"Lady Upland," Maybelle refused to call this woman Mrs. Tiggular by any means, "Are you alright?"

The eighteen-year old looked up at her and suddenly she looked beyond her years. Lady Upland looked wretched. Her eyes were red from crying, her lips were quivering and had seemed to be bitten quite a few times, her body trembling and shaking with sadness.

"He hates me," was the only thing she could manage to whimper out repeatedly, "He hates me, he hates me, he hates me."

Maybelle, unlike most, did not usually take pity on the golden haired beauty. She had been nothing but a prissy little flirt ever since Fiyero had let her stay with him, soon after he had proposed to her. The maid, again unlike most, did not like Glinda. Maybelle had always thought she was a stuck up wealthy dumb blonde. Having had to serve her for a year now, Maybelle's opinion had not changed much. She still believed that Glinda was a wealthy dumb blonde but she had also discovered that she was unfaithful, deceitful, a filthy liar, cruel, and downright mean.

The only thing that Maybelle could credit to the blonde was that she was not as horrible as her mother. Glinda at least showed that she had some signs of a heart and of compassion.

But now as the maid stared at her mistress, she felt an ache of pity form in her heart, a small ache but a sense of emotion towards her nonetheless.

"Miss Glinda," said Maybelle gently as she knelt down and placed a hand over the blonde's shaking one, "What are you going on about? Who hates you?"

She imagined that the well to do woman didn't have many friends, more like friends who wanted to mooch off of her and men who just wanted her for her money.

"Fiyero," cried out Glinda as she dry-heaved while sobbing until Maybelle thought she would keel over, "Fiyero hates me because I'm nothing but a shameless pretty tease!"

She broke, starting crying hysterically all over again. Pained, anguished sobs exited her mouth over and over again. Her eyes leaked precious tears that ran down her face like a waterfall.

Maybelle didn't need her to fill in the blanks. She had already known what had been going on with Glinda and Cherrystone. She had been, after all, in the house at the time. Why the blonde, and most wealthy people with servants, thought that they didn't see absolutely everything that happened in the household was beyond her. The servants always knew everything, every secret, every accident, every hidden relationship that took place in the house that they served under.

Good, Maybelle thought, I'm glad the blonde princess finally got what she deserved.

"He didn't say that it was over but I know he meant it," the blonde started blabbering in her hysterics, "He hates me and he doesn't want to marry me anymore. And I don't know where he is, and I just want to talk with him…" she buried her head in her knees and let out heartbreaking wails and cries.

Maybelle swallowed heavily, "Would you like me to go find him for you?" she offered. Though she didn't like the blonde she felt obliged to ask if she needed assistance if only in fear that she might lose her job if she didn't.

Glinda nodded reverently and furiously at her, "Yes, please," she said in a child-like voice with a manner to accompany it.

"I'll be right back," Maybelle said gently as she straightened herself up and went to go find Fiyero. If Glinda hadn't looked so broken, and so sad Maybelle wouldn't have done it. She knew about Glinda and Cherrystone and was actually glad that the blonde woman was miserable for a change. Maybe it would teach her a lesson. But as a person, she felt obliged to help Glinda.

Maybelle went down the line of doors in the hallway, finding each of them to be empty except for the one that Elphaba had been residing in.

What she found in Elphaba's room shocked her. She had opened the door to suddenly find Elphaba and Fiyero locked in some sort of passionate kiss.

Mouth a gape; Maybelle stared at the scene as if she could not tear her eyes away. Half of her felt like laughing, oh the irony! Was no one in this world able to stay with one person for the rest of his or her lives anymore? The other half wanted to remark upon the situation but Maybelle knew that would be a one-way ticket out of here.

As she watched, even though she knew it was oh so very wrong of her to do so (most maids would have closed the door hastily and quietly at this point) she couldn't help but wonder what the blonde would think of this.

This was probably the bad karma coming around full swing at the blonde's heart.

Feeling like she had seen enough, Maybelle closed the door quietly and stepped back a few paces. Turning quickly, with an idea in her mind, she headed back to where Glinda was still crumbled on the floor.

"Did you find him?" the blonde managed to croak out.

Maybelle nodded as she stared at the woman she worked for. She really was pitiful. Though her infamous and incomparable beauty hid her insecurities and her flaws Maybelle realized that Glinda was not as perfect as she appeared to be.

Glinda, realized Maybelle, deserved a taste of her own medicine, of the heartbreak that she had put on Fiyero.

"Yes, I did," said the maid.

The light in Glinda's eyes suddenly returned and she staggered to stand up, pressing a hand against the wall for support.

Neither Maybelle nor the rest of the maids had ever been told the true story of what had happened to Glinda last night but Maybelle guessed it had done something to the blonde's psyche or body.

The blonde seemed weaker in body and mental strength, as if she had been defeated maliciously by something. Maybelle noticed that she would switch from one emotion to the next suddenly and quickly at the drop of a hat.

"Where is he?" Glinda asked brightly, "Where is he?"

Maybelle bit her lip for a fraction of a second. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other nervously as she chose her words carefully.

"He's in Elphaba's room," she said knowingly that once the blonde woman burst through the door and found out the truth (hopefully all she would see would be Elphaba and Fiyero kissing and nothing more) that the dynamics in this household would be forever changed.

Glinda took off towards Elphaba's room in a bolt and obviously the underlying tone in Maybelle's voice was being ignored.

She nearly pulled off the door handle whilst turning it, she was so desperate, so anxious to just speak with Fiyero that she almost didn't see what was happening when the door was open.

After the door had been swung open, not quietly either, Glinda suddenly froze in place. Her eyes were glued to the two forms in front of her. At first, she thought it was a trick of light like when she had first seen Elphaba. But the more she stared, the more Glinda realized that what she was seeing was not a trick of light.

Fiyero, her fiancé and betrothed, was passionately kissing Elphaba.

Glinda felt like screaming at them once her brain computed the information that Fiyero was kissing Elphaba, that green circus woman. She felt like yelling at them and having an absolute tantrum and screaming match.

But she found that she couldn't. A large lump was forming in her throat that was causing her vocal chords to be severely sore. Her eyes were wet but she did not cry. Glinda was too detached in this moment to cry. She felt like she was watching a horror film of her life play out before her. Like this was all some hellish nightmare coming true. And that's what it was… this was Glinda's reality right now and no matter how hard she tried to tell herself that it was a dream she could not believe it. It was real and the actions that had, were, and would be happening in the future could never be erased.

And in that moment, as she watched Fiyero and Elphaba kiss, Glinda's heart suddenly couldn't take it. It shattered into a million pieces, shards and bits of glass breaking away and completely coming apart.

Nearly dropping to her knees and howling in pain, Glinda suddenly grabbed the door and slammed it shut, not caring if Fiyero or Elphaba now knew that she had been watching.

Gasping breathlessly Glinda staggered and stumbled down the hallway, trying to just get away from all this hurt and pain that being in this house was causing her.

Her head was spinning mercilessly at the fact that Fiyero had gone to Elphaba for comfort and that she had actually gave it to him. Glinda had, even though their relationship had been rocky at first, thought of Elphaba and herself as friends, best friends to be exact. The blonde didn't have many friends and to be betrayed by the one person she had called her 'best friend,' and whom she had affection for was like someone had ripped out her heart and crushed it.

She tripped numerous times down the stairs; her feet felt like they were sliding on ice, her heart felt like it had been blasted at with a cannonball, and her throat felt like it was closing on her.

Tears that she didn't even know her body had conjured up flowed fluently down her face in absolute heartbreak though Glinda couldn't tell if she was more heartbroken by the betrayal by Elphaba or by Fiyero ending his relationship with her. Either way the blonde was beyond devastated, sobbing heavily as she tried to get away from this place that had brought her so much heartbreak in the last few days.

Mr. Boss' words spun around her head as she ran across the hallway and through the foyer towards the front doors of the castle.

She would ruin you… she would bring despair upon your household.

Glinda didn't want to know how Fiyero and Elphaba had started kissing. She didn't want to know if Fiyero had made an advance on Elphaba or the other way around. She didn't care if Elphaba had wanted to kiss him or not. The burning stinging fact was that they had kissed, quite passionately if you asked Glinda, and that was something no one could ever deny.

Once she made it outside, Glinda didn't look back. She knew where she needed to go. She needed to get rid of Elphaba and the one man who had promised her that he could do that was Mr. Boss.

Glinda was running away to the one place she hated, the circus and more specifically The Ozling Brother's Circus.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six:

A fair-haired woman staggered and stumbled along the cobblestone pathway out of Kiamo Ko and into the dark night. Her body was weakening fast; she could feel the blood slowing in her veins, the relentlessly pumping of the liquid ceasing every second. She was beyond light-headed now that her heart, which had been made out of glass, had shattered into oblivion. It had to be beyond repair, thought the blonde. Irreversible if her body continued to shut down like this. She would be dead before dawn at this rate.

Even still Glinda pressed on, humiliated and damaged to her destination. They needed to pay. Elphaba and Fiyero, the cause of her torment, needed to be taught a lesson. The one person who had promised her that that lesson would be fulfilled when the time came was Mr. Boss.

When Glinda had met Mr. Boss again in those woods a few days ago, which seemed like forever, he had told her that Elphaba would be the ruin of her. That it was all Elphaba's fault. He had also told her that if she wished to rid herself and her life of Elphaba then to come to the circus and strike up a bargain with him.

And boy did Glinda have a persuasive bargain in mind. All she needed to do was to get to the circus alive.

* * *

Fiyero and Elphaba stood frozen in the bedroom their arms still around each other but their faces were staring at the door.

"Do you think she saw?" asked Fiyero quietly after a few long minutes had passed since the door had been slammed shut.

Elphaba nodded slowly, the feeling of numbness spreading throughout her body. She couldn't get Glinda's face out of her head. Though she had seen it for but a split second it was engraved in her mind. Glinda had looked horribly betrayed, desperately lost and exceedingly hurt by the kiss that she had seen between Fiyero and Elphaba.

Even though Elphaba knew that Glinda had cheated, physically too, on Fiyero with Cherrystone she couldn't help but think that this was so much worse. It had been a kiss between the blonde's fiancé and her friend, Glinda's best friend if Elphaba was so bold to guess that that is what Glinda thought of her as.

"I feel awful," expressed Elphaba with guilt trembling in her voice.

"Don't be," said Fiyero sternly, "She deserves to be miserable."

Elphaba looked at him in shock more than anything else. How could it be that one could go from loving someone to wishing absolute misery on them in a matter of hours?

"There was a time that you would kiss her like you just kissed me, a time when you loved her," reminded Elphaba.

"She doesn't matter anymore, not to me at least!" he roared. He slipped his arms away from her body and tensed up his hands at his fists. He had been angry when he barged in here, he had been furious when he explained to Elphaba (in a few short fuming words) what had happened with Glinda and Cherrystone. And then he had, in an act of sheer impulsiveness (something that he was known by many to have) kissed Elphaba in a pathetic way to get back at Glinda for cheating on him.

"She mattered after she nearly died." Elphaba was on the defensive side for this one. Something that Fiyero didn't understand at all.

"That was before I knew what she did!" he shouted, "She's a scheming little liar, Elphaba! Why do you refuse to see that? I know why, it's because you're in love with her!"

The accusation resonated inside the house for what seemed like an eternity before either of them spoke.

"I care for her," half-lied Elphaba. She didn't want to admit that she was in love with Glinda because she didn't know if what she felt for the blonde was love. It was definitely something, something that had started after the blonde had became nice to her, but whether it was love or not was still a mystery.

"No, you're in love with her, just like the rest of Oz is. I can see it. You can't help but fall in love and get all starry-eyed when she says your name, touches your hand, tells you something that she's told no one else. You're just as gullible as the rest of them, Elphaba!"

The green woman stood there reeling in shock.

"Are you mad at her or at me?"

For that, he gave her no answer and stood in stewing fury.

"Get out," said Elphaba sharply as she pointed towards the door. She was done with his constant, pathetic attempts at getting back at Glinda by pretending to have feelings for her.

"Elphaba-" he started.

"Get out!" she yelled at him and pushed him away from her. Fiyero stood there, trying to decide on which course of action to take next.

As he walked past her, Elphaba didn't let him see the tears rolling down and burning her face.

She was done with being used by Fiyero, by Glinda; by everyone. She had been used in her life one too many times to count.

And this, this escalating conflict between the three of them; Glinda, Fiyero and herself, was the last straw.

* * *

"Mr. Boss!" a weak voice was heard in the distance as the circus performers all slowly wandered into their tents and trailers for the night.

"Mr. Boss! Mr. Boss!" the voice got persistently louder and soon a figure appeared that seemed to fit the voice.

The leader of the circus heard the sound of his name and groaned as he forced himself to get out of his tent and looked around for whoever was calling him.

He saw a young woman with blonde hair, a flimsy black nightgown, and blue eyes.

"Blondie," he mused as soon as he recognized her. He knew that she would come running to him at one point or another.

"Mr. Boss," Glinda was nearly collapsing to the ground at this point. The pain was so intense, so much, so blinding that the blonde didn't think that she could stand it much longer.

"I need… I need your help," she managed to whimper as she finally reached where he was.

It was then, when she was up close to him, that Mr. Boss could see the blood stains leaking through the fabric of the material of her nightgown. He would have been more interested if he hadn't already known exactly what had happened to the blonde. He knew that she had gotten the Spanish flu from that soldier that she had been screwing around with because he had been the one that had injected the soldier with the illness in the first place. He knew that Elphaba had tried to save the blonde when they thought she was dying and he knew that she had used the Heart spell because he had been the one to make sure that that specific spell was in The Grimmerie.

Mr. Boss worked for a higher being and although he was not entirely sure of who that was, he still followed his orders.

Every day, minute, hour and second of his and everyone else's life was being determined by this higher being and Mr. Boss was just the man who carried out the orders.

And this order with Elphaba was the trickiest one yet.

And so with a snap of Mr. Boss' fingers, two musclemen came and picked up the now unconscious blonde.

"Take her to Yackle, stat," were his directions.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

The cloth was stained with crimson. Blood to be more exact. Even still the elder woman holding the cloth kept pressing it against the area where the liquid kept appearing on the younger woman's body.

Her instructions had been quite clear. Tend to the woman's wounds and then report back to him. But Yackle wasn't that obedient. She had found, upon her inspection, something rather odd about the blonde woman's wounds.

Glass had been embedded into her skin not from the outside but from the inside. Naturally curious, Yackle had opened up the wound to see a split and shattered heart made out of glass.

Intrigued, if not slightly horrified, Yackle had been utterly fascinated with the shattered heart. She had even fixed the so-called heart with her infamous magic; which stayed as a secret amongst all of Oz except for a select few.

Even though she was just a mere pawn in this intertwined web of bosses and workers Yackle knew and played her part well. She was a triple agent, being loyal to him and her, then to Mr. Boss, and lastly to herself. Yackle had her own agenda, which none of her employers seemed to even notice or care about unless it interfered with their instructions and demands.

The blonde woman stirred slightly from her unconscious state and that brought Yackle's attention back to the present.

What to do about this new information, Yackle wondered. She guessed that Mr. Boss already knew about the heart due to his affiliation with the Time Dragon clock, and that left with her telling her other two bosses who seamlessly were intertwined as one since they both had the same agenda.

But, instead of being obedient, Yackle decided to keep this new information to herself until she saw an opportunity open for her other bosses to use this to their advantage.

"There we go, dearie, all stitched up and well again," said Yackle as she held the blonde woman down as she tried to sit up. She grabbed off of her shelf another smelling salt, one that knocked out anyone at a drop of a hat, and waved it under the woman's nose. The blonde fell limply back against the table, unconscious once more.

Curious, Yackle stole a long look at the now stitched up patch of skin exposed to the air with a queer look in her eyes.

How the blonde had come to have a heart of glass was a mystery to her and it was one she intended to solve as soon as possible.

Time was of the essence and there was not a lot of it left. She had to figure it out quickly.

* * *

Elphaba sulked in her room for the rest of the night and when morning came, she found the castle to be deserted and empty with no signs of Fiyero or of Glinda. The servants were up and dressed and had done and busied themselves with various chores, if only to keep themselves out of her wrath and fury.

She was on a search for one person and one person only.

Fiyero.

She searched through the castle relentlessly, but with no such findings of Glinda or Fiyero. Disappointed and a bit more than irritated Elphaba thought that a stroll through the mountainside might calm her nerves.

The grass tickled her legs and the fabric of her dress while the wind teased her hair and face, but Elphaba was in no mood for any enlightenment connections with nature. The early morning light blinded her as she walked purposefully down the steep slope, trying not to trip and fall over roots, fallen timbers, plants, and various species of animals.

After what seemed like hours, Elphaba spotted a man on horseback and strained to see who it was.

"Who's there?" she called out as she ungracefully climbed over a large fallen tree in her simple black drab of a dress.

The man, who looked as though he was about to fire, cursed under his breath obviously startled, missed his target, and shot a glare back to her.

"Who are you?" he asked bitterly as he lowered his shotgun, disappointed in his missed shot.

"I asked you first," snapped back Elphaba. This was no time for games. She had to find Fiyero so she could talk to him, apologize, or something like that.

But as soon as the retort had left her mouth, Elphaba realized that she had seen this man before.

"You're Cherrystone, aren't you?" she asked quietly. His name carried throughout the forest with an echo.

"What's it to you," he huffed back at her as he cocked his gun.

"I'm a friend of Glinda's," she paused, "and Fiyero's."

He blanched at that.

"And I know who you are," he said after a moment of studying her, "You're that green freak from the circus, aren't you? Oh, Glinda blabbed about you too sweetheart. Said that you were the reason why Fiyero didn't love her anymore, that you were the cause of her torment."

"That's not true! Glinda brought her own misery upon herself!"

A wicked smile crossed Cherrystone's features as he suddenly slid down from his horse, the gun still positioned in his grasp.

At the same time, Elphaba gulped and felt a feeling of uneasiness spread through her body. Her nerves tingled and her heart began to race.

She was out here, all alone, with Cherrystone.

"You know, I've heard so much about you, Elphaba," his voice saying her name made Elphaba cringe, "I wonder…"

His eyes slid up and down her body lustfully. Elphaba's throat got very tight and she felt her heart pounding in her chest now, she thought she could almost hear it.

"Leave me alone," she said commandingly but Cherrystone laughed it off.

He pointed the gun at her heart, "See, I was out here looking for Fiyero or Glinda or whoever came around but I told the guys at the base that I went out for a little bit of hunting. I don't think anyone would mind if I came back with a dead green girl instead of a dead animal carcass. Men on the front don't get a lot of company… and I'm sure they'd all enjoy a dead girl who is green much better than a green girl who is alive… because if you're dead then there's no struggling involved."

He stalked towards her, gun still aimed at her heart.

"Glinda would have been a better choice but I won't complain," he said as he placed his index finger on the trigger.

A shot was suddenly heard in the forest and the birds scattered throughout the sky at the noise.

* * *

When Glinda awoke she was lying on a table. Her chest had painful throbs radiating from it but all the blonde could concentrate on was how groggy and tired she was. She didn't remember anything except for passing out. Where was she exactly? But as soon as she asked herself that question, Glinda remembered where she was. She was at the Ozling Brother's Circus.

She staggered to get herself to an upright position. Once she was upright, her vision spun but Glinda could tell where she was.

She was in a train compartment, a rather shabby one at that as she noticed the filth and dirt that covered the floor and sides of the metal walls. A window was placed at her viewing sight and she peered out into the distance to try and figure out where she was exactly.

A sign that sped by the window read:

Emerald City: dead ahead.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Emerald City… The Emerald City. No it couldn't be possible… Glinda was not on her way to the Emerald City on a circus train.

Her paranoid thoughts were interrupted by a sliding metal door opening and shutting on one of the inner walls of the compartment. A frail old woman appeared, scuttling along towards Glinda. Her heavy bosom, Glinda noticed, looked as if it was going to drag her down the floor and her legs seemed too wobbly to hold herself up.

"Excuse me," Glinda finally found her voice again, "I don't understand. Where is Mr. Boss? I must speak with him immediately… it's about… um a friend of mine, you see." Glinda lied smoothly to the old woman. In those brief moments she had almost forgotten about the painful throbbing in her chest that plagued her.

"Your conference with Mr. Boss is postponed until your health is up to par, my dear. So I suggest," the old woman grabbed a small pot of something and held it under her nose so quickly that Glinda didn't have any time to react, "that you just sleep some more until we get to our destination."

Glinda slumped back against the table and Yackle, satisfied, put back the smelling salt. She was quite happy with her handiwork at what she had done to the blonde about her heart and keeping the girl captive until they reached their destination. Then she left the blonde alone in the compartment as the train barreled on towards the city.

Yackle continued her way through the compartments, knowing each part like the back of her hand. She passed by the contortionists, acrobats, clowns, animal trainers, animal abusers, the trapezes, and the other abnormal beings of Oz that Mr. Boss and his clock had forced into servitude. Here at Ozling Brother's, the odd and weird could find a place, a home to live in and be taken care of. If they managed to stay alive that is… The Ozling Brother's circus had a reputation of switching out performers with new ones when they grew to a 'retire able' age. But those performers always vanished, never to be found again. Yackle recalled one incident with two flamboyant boys who had been caught trying to leave the circus. Crope and Tibbet or was it Tibbet and Crope… Yackle was starting to realize that she was losing it. Anyways the two boys had mysteriously vanished from the train, never to be heard from again. Now Yackle knew for herself what had really happened to these boys but the rest of the performers didn't, and Mr. Boss loved to keep them all on edge.

After all, mused Yackle as she entered Mr. Boss' room, life is a show. It's all one big trick so sometimes it's better to go out with a bang than with nothing at all.

And that's all this, Yackle was referring to the circus, is. A show. Purely for entertainment and (sometimes) political reasons and every once in a while for personal gain. Yackle knew the circumstances of her situation and she knew how people came to be a part of this circus… and it was not just because someone ran away and joined this circus. Everyone who was a part of this circus was more than a performer they were rejects of society and for good reason too…

"Glad you could join us," snorted Mr. Boss, interrupting Yackle's thoughts as he sat with his little legs up on a table, a freshly poured glass of gin in his hands.

"She'll be out for another couple of hours," Yackle reported to him as she sat down slowly in a chair. She was getting more fragile and senile with age, "And I used that spell on her that you instructed me to use when she was asleep."

"Good," said Mr. Boss after a quick shot of his drink had finished its way down his throat, "Now what to do with her once we get to the city…"

"I thought you had all of this planned out before we got news of her arrival," snapped Yackle. She was irritated that she was being told what to do by mere fools who didn't even know what their own next step would be. If it were up to her, Yackle would have the girl in chains and make her beg for her own release… and then kill her after she/they got what she/they wanted… since it wasn't the blonde girl they were after.

"I'm just joking with you," said Mr. Boss with an easy smile, "Of course I know what I'm doing. The interrogation and evaluation start tomorrow."

Yackle shifted in her seat, pleased with this news.

"And what of our investors? Will they be there?"  
"Which one?" inquired Mr. Boss. It was getting hard to keep track of all these investors.

"The one from Gillikin. The Platos Baron… what was his name again?" Yackle was forgetting the little things… and Lurline above be thankful that it was just the little things.

"He will be here first thing tomorrow morning to evaluate the situation." Mr. Boss was clip and short with her. His patience towards the elderly woman was growing thin but she was of vital use to him so he tried, as he did everyday, not to lose his temper with her. After all she had been the one that had given him The Grimmerie in the first place.

"You didn't tell me his name." pointed out Yackle.

Mr. Boss took another swig of his gin, "That doesn't concern you now does it, Yackle? Now how is Blondie faring with her new heart?"

"How the hell should I know? She's been asleep this entire time!" Her face became flushed, something that was unbecoming on every woman, "Stop changing the subject! I asked you for the wretched name!"

"What does it matter to you?" spat back the dwarf as he glared at her, "Got someone higher up that you need to squeal to?"

"Did it ever occur to you that I might want to know for myself?" she fired back at him. Yackle still had some spunk left in her, even though it was slightly fading.

"The. Name," she hissed, "Give me the name."

He was un-intimidated. He stared her down with as much intensity as she stared him down. And yet he obliged, due to some reason Yackle never really figured out.

"Sir Chuffrey. Sir William Chuffrey."

* * *

Elphaba instinctively covered her ears at the gunshot sound and waited for some immense pain to start spreading throughout her body. But it never came. Surprised and a bit skeptical she looked down at her heart to see that no damage had been done. Her gaze then traveled to where it found Cherrystone, lying on the ground… dead.

She whirled around looking for her savior when her eyes landed on Fiyero. In his hands he held a rifle and smoke mingled with the air from its shot. Her eyes immediately connected with his.

"Fiyero," she said breathlessly, "You saved me."

"You shouldn't be here," he replied in a clipped voice, "They don't call this place The Dark Forest for nothing. You could have been killed."

Biting her lip, for she had quite a few choice words for him at the moment, Elphaba smiled and nodded.

"Thank you for saving me," she added with her eyes downcast.

"Don't mention it," he said sharply. He seemed more than angry with her. Elphaba opened her mouth to speak when he shushed her and grabbed her hand.

"Come with me. We mustn't stay here. Someone or something is bound to find us here."

And so Elphaba followed his lead, all the while keeping silent until they reached the edge of the forest.

"Fiyero, how did you find me?" she asked suddenly stopping in her tracks and letting her muscles relax.

His face twitched.

"I was looking for Glinda," he muttered bitterly as he swatted back a branch as he pressed onward.

"Did you find her?" Elphaba called from her spot. She still had not moved.

Fiyero turned back and looked at her.

"No, she's gone." His voice was hollow, almost if as he had already forgotten about Glinda, "I checked everywhere. The village, Kiamo Ko, the barns, her dance studio. She's nowhere to be found."

"I'm sure she'll turn up," Elphaba was trying to remain positive, if not for his sake for her own. She had seen the look on the blonde's face and could only hope that she hadn't done anything stupid to jeopardize her own life.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Fiyero mumbled, "If I know anything about Glinda it's that she can hold a grudge against anybody for the slightest of reasons."

"She'll come back, Fiyero…"

Fiyero looked as though he didn't believe it. "Don't count on it."

Elphaba looked at him, biting her lip. This man was not the same man that she had had a fight with last night. He was changed…

"Besides I thought you didn't want her to come back. You said she didn't matter to you anymore," Elphaba treaded lightly, not wanting to end up in a screaming match like last night.

Fiyero took a moment to answer whilst the trees scattered their leaves, the wind howled, and the morning sun nearly blinded both of them.

"I thought of the things I said and the things I did last night and I realized that I was acting in the moment instead of considering the entire picture before I acted. I'm sorry for yelling at you," he apologized.

He looked sincere and when Elphaba gazed upon that emotion she felt her heart soften for him against her will. It was a look so usual of him that caused her heart to melt frequently. She couldn't say no to that face, it was too charming, too dashing. But soon Elphaba's rationale came through and she stopped herself before she said anything stupid. Since when had she cared about appearances? Fiyero had used her, and her magick… just like Mr. Boss had said people would do.

Elphaba had let Fiyero and Glinda walk all over her, that's how she had gotten into this mess. She had, for the first time in her life, let her guard down for both of them and look at the mess she was in now. Glinda was missing, Cherrystone was dead, Mr. Boss and his affiliates probably wanted her head, and Fiyero was still deciding on his feelings for either Glinda or herself. She sometimes wished that she had never been born to save herself from this wretched, hard life she lived. But she did as she had always done, she pressed on with some immense mental strength that had saved her from her inner demons time and time again.

"I'm sorry as well," she said softly. She meant it too. She was sorry for ruining his life, for causing such a break in his relationship with Glinda, sorry for nearly killing her, for existing in this life of his that clearly did not put her into the equation. If only Fiyero knew whom exactly he was harboring in his house… then she would be rid of this complicated mess forever. And so Elphaba decided to tell him.

"You don't know much about me, do you?" Elphaba's mouth began talking even though her brain did not give it permission.

Fiyero blinked at her and moved a step closer to her, "No, not really."

"What do you know?" Elphaba would rather try and explain herself from what he knew than to start all over at the beginning.

A look of utter confusion passed through Fiyero's face.

"Elphaba what does this have to-"

"Just tell me, please," her voice was gentle and Fiyero fought to oblige for a moment and then he gave in.

"Your name is Elphaba, Elphaba Thropp. You ran away to the circus when you were young and you've been there ever since. You're allergic to water and you're nineteen years old."

He looked at her to see if she was satisfied but instead he saw a look of guilt flash on her face.

"Elphaba…" he started off slow, "What are you hiding from me?"

She chewed on her bottom lip and looked at him, "I know I told you, and Mr. Boss told you, that I ran away to the circus… but that's not true Fiyero."

She let her words sink in before she continued.

"Fiyero I didn't run away to the circus… the circus came to me and took me away. That's what they do. It's not really a circus. It's actually a way for the government to get rid of the beings of Oz who disagree with the Wizard, and then they manipulate them to turn into submissive, subordinate citizens of Oz."

"Elphaba-what are you saying?" Fiyero was flabbergasted.

"They take mostly political prisoners, people who have spoken up about The Wizard's wrongdoings and people who care about animals and Animals, and they even captured Animals and tried to get them to stop speaking."

"They take people from their homes if they have been accused, accused of anything from speaking out to those who try and assassinate the Wizard. Then they take them to a woman, Yackle's her name and she magicks them into thinking their circus performers. The spells last from anywhere to a year or ten depending on how weak the mind of the person is. They keep them captive there, living a false life until rumors about them have stopped spreading and then they kill them."

"Why did they come after you, though?" That was the only question Fiyero could articulate. The rest of his inquiries were buzzing about his head.

"I don't know the exact reason. But I have a theory."

"Elphaba you do realize how ridiculous this sounds, right?" Fiyero's head was spinning. Sure the Ozling Brother's Circus had a reputation for losing its performers quite often but this, saying that it was a government related way to get rid of traitors and heretics was simply insane.  
"I know, but it's the truth. They tried to turn me into an enemy of the Wizard but an enemy that they could control and handle."

Fiyero's eyes met hers. He saw no lies within them and he was suddenly chilled to the bone at what she was telling him.

"How?"

"They did all of these experiments on me, put me in chains and tried to get the most hatred reaction out of me. They saw that I was filled with all of this unresolved anger and they saw that as an opportunity. They saw in a distant future that the glorious Wizard would defeat a green skinned Wicked Witch. They were going to use me Fiyero, use me as a pawn in their game to make the Wizard a hero!"

Fiyero ran his hands through his hair, "Why? Why now? The Wizard has reigned for quite some time without such an uproar."

"I don't know why, I wish I did but I don't." Elphaba hung her head in shame, "I thought the Grimmerie might hold clues as to why but I know think it's the Clock that I need to go after."

"These people that are doing this… are they dangerous?" Fiyero's voice had lowered as if he was afraid of the wind hearing his question.

Elphaba paused for a brief second, "I have never seen them, save for Mr. Boss and Yackle but I have seen what they've done, what deeds they have told people to carry out. They have murdered innocent people, slaughtered entire villages by letting the brainwashed Animals and animals tear people to shreds, tortured human beings all because of rumors and speculation, thrown people of trains because they began to think for themselves again and began to question the false life that they were leading. Fiyero, this people are more than dangerous… they're murderers."

"Did they brainwash you?" Fiyero asked, looking quite warily at her as if she was about to attack him.

"No, I didn't submit to their spells or potions or smelling salts. But that's why they tortured me, they already knew that I had an allergy to water and they used that to their full advantage. I think that's why they wanted to turn me into an enemy, because I knew the truth when the rest of Oz doesn't. No one would ever believe me and if the government made enough claims against me then I would turn into an enemy."

"And you were just going to let them? You didn't even try and run away?" Fiyero was horrified that Elphaba would have just let them use her like that without putting up a fight.

"I was convinced that the world already thought of me as a monster and that it wouldn't make any difference if I was an enemy or not. No one loved me when I was younger or when I was in the circus. No one cared. My father thought I was a freak, my sister used me as a crutch, my mother was dead, and Nanny tried to care for me but she was a babbling fool. I never knew love or compassion so I figured that I was meant to always be hated and cast aside."

Tears that she had fought to keep down suddenly rose in her eyes and she tried to blink them away. She turned her head down and bit her lip. She had never, ever told anyone this before. It was like she had bared her entire soul to Fiyero with this confession and Elphaba couldn't tell if he was horrified at what she had said or with her.

"Elphaba…" Fiyero's voice was barely a whisper in the wind. He saw that she wasn't looking at him. His feet moved quickly, even though they felt like they were detached from his body, and he soon found himself inches from Elphaba.

He cupped his hand under her chin, bringing her gaze to meet his and then he kissed her gently showing her that now, in this moment, she could know love and compassion.

With that kiss, that true loves kiss Fiyero realized that his body and soul belonged to Elphaba and not Glinda.

"I love you," he said once he pulled away. Elphaba's eyes shone with tears and she smiled faintly.

"You don't know who you're in love with, Fiyero. I'm not the one for you," she said quietly.

"I know enough about you to know that I'm in love with you. And as for what you've been through and what you know I can't wait to spend the rest of my life learning about it," Fiyero said as he kissed her again.

"They won't stop until they have me captured again Fiyero, they know that I stole The Grimmerie and that is how they magick everyone," explained Elphaba, "You're condemning yourself to death just by being seen with me. That's why I kept telling you that I have to leave… they won't have mercy on you or Glinda. They'll kill both of you." Elphaba looked guilty as if the thought of that happening was already in her mind.

"For you, death would be worth it. You are worth it, Elphaba," and Fiyero reassured her with another kiss.

But as he kissed her, Elphaba knew that Fiyero didn't realize the grave circumstances of being with her. People died because they tried to become friends with her, because they tried to care for her.

Fiyero nor Glinda for that matter did not realize that they were signing their own death warrants by being with her and Elphaba figured that they never would until it was too late.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

He arrived in the morning just like he said he would. The train had arrived in the Emerald City during the very late hours of the night and it had stopped on the outer skirts of the city where they wouldn't be disturbed.

He passed through the filled and noisy compartments, barely acknowledging anyone else's presence as he made his way to Mr. Boss's room on the train.

The door swung open and he made himself known to the dwarf and the old woman who were sitting chatting away in the office.

The man swung around a spare chair and sat down in it.

"Where is this so-called bait you two keep telling me about and how did she come to be in your possession?" were the first words out of his mouth. Not a hello or a good morning to be heard.

The dwarf and the old woman stopped their useless blabbering and paid him mind.

"She's in the last cart, and she came to us asking for help," Mr. Boss finally answered the man.

"And why is she the bait?" he asked impatiently. He wanted answers and he wanted them right away so he could get to work. He had been told little to next to nothing about this new recruit and it was his job to deem them worthy of this life or not. His supposed work as the biggest stockholder in all of Gillikin was just a cover up. He raked in millions by working for the Wizard of Oz and for this 'circus' business.

But Chuffrey still had a job to do, even if it was sending criminals and political prisoners to their deaths by letting them join the Ozling Brothers' Circus.

"She's just one person, the other key to the bait is still with her. But don't fret, we'll have him soon as well," piped up the old woman, Yackle she was called.

"What exactly do you want me to do with her?" he asked sternly as he straightened his suit jacket for what was the millionth time and rolled his neck to get the kinks out.

"Evaluate her, just like you've done with the rest of them," said Mr. Boss testily.

"Is there anything else I should know about her?" Chuffrey asked his last question once he saw that he was irritating his employers.

Mr. Boss and Yackle glanced at each other and Mr. Boss opened his mouth to speak.

"Her name is Glinda Upland, she was supposed to marry Fiyero Tiggular this May. She's a dancer at the Vinkus Dance Company, and recently she came to have a glass heart courtesy of the fugitive named Elphaba that we are after."

"A glass heart?" repeated Chuffrey curiously, "What do you mean?" He was intrigued now to say the least.

"You'll find out," Mr. Boss said with an annoyed sigh and added after, "Now get the hell out of my office and do your job."

"But-" he started but as soon as the word left his lips he knew it was a mistake.

"NOW!"

He left a bit reluctantly, and traveled to the last cart in the long line of train carnage.

He pulled the door open and found his target lying peacefully on the large table that was in the middle of the cart. Sir William Chuffrey put down his briefcase on the floor and began to organize the contents of it in a line on the floor.

Smelling salts, hallucination drugs, restraints, sleeping pills, and a knife that he always kept handy all were put into a line on the floor.

After he was done getting settled, he moved over to the young and beautiful target and began to tie the restraints onto her wrists, ankles, and around her stomach. As he did so, Chuffrey couldn't help but admire the woman's figure. Chuffrey couldn't remember the last time he had been with a woman. It was exhilarating just to look at her, fascinating to him at the most. Her legs looked like they were carved out of smooth stone. Her breasts were a more prominent feature on her body. And that hair was glorious, Chuffrey felt as if he was dealing with golden ringlets as he moved it out of the way. He felt slightly guilty, tying up a beautiful, attractive woman like this. But this was his job and Chuffrey always did his job. The restraints were just part of it. He made sure they were good and tight, sealed underneath the table before he woke her.

Finally he positioned a smelling salt underneath her nose and her eyelids immediately snapped open. It was then that he could see the beautiful bright color of her eyes. It took her a few seconds of trying to move around for her to realize that she was restrained.

When she did, she casted him a glare so hateful and full of anger and confusion, "Who the hell are you and why do you have me tied up?" she spat at him.

Her voice was heavenly even when it was laced with absolute fury.

"I am Sir Chuffrey, William Chuffrey," he answered her questions in a matter of fact voice, giving nothing away as to his inner attraction to her. He tried to ignore the desire slowly building up inside of him that had came so quickly. Maybe, it had been _too_ long since he had been with a woman seeing as this had never happened between himself and a victim before.

"You didn't answer my second question," she pointed out after a moment of processing his name.

"You should know the answer to that," he said as he grabbed a bottle of potion from Yackle's stash.

"Well I don't, okay. I was told that my meeting with Mr. Boss was postponed till later when my health was better," Glinda was furious and horribly confused.

Chuffrey paused, a muscle on his face twitched and then he continued with his work. It was a surprise to him that she really didn't know why she was here. Most of the victims knew of their crimes and had been told of their fate.

"You really don't know why you are here?" he posed his words as a question.

"No," said Glinda, looking as if she was about to cry. Her lips quivered and she struggled to keep the inward bubble of tears and sadness away.

He looked at her, tied down on the table in her lace evening clothes and Chuffrey felt pity on her. She was young, so young. Nearly half his age if his calculations were correct. Chuffrey had been doing this job too many years to count and he could only remember one person that had looked (and definitely had been) younger than Glinda. He remembered the day that the Circus had stolen Elphaba Thropp away, a mere child of eight with astonishing powers from the great beyond. Shaking his head and his memories, Chuffrey got back to the matter at hand, Glinda.

"You have been found fraternizing with the enemy, Ms. Upland. An enemy of our Glorious Wizard… some might call that treason," he watched as her face blanched when that word left his lips, "And for treason, consequences must be delivered."

"An enemy?" she was confused, "Who?"

She tried to think back of all the people she had met and socialized with. Was he talking about Fiyero? Her mother? Cherrystone? Or worse… could he be talking about Elphaba?

As the thought came into her mind, a curious expression crossed her face and Chuffrey knew immediately that she knew that he was talking about Elphaba.

"I don't understand," Glinda said as she tried to once again release herself of her restraints but to no avail.

"She's a monster, a horrible criminal. Did you know she killed her own mother? She has these powers that she unleashes on anyone she doesn't like," Chuffrey's words were all lies of course but Glinda was not allowed to know that, "Has she ever used her powers while you were letting her live under your roof?"

Glinda's mind wandered off to the time where Elphaba had let a burst of magic and had blown the doors off of their house. She also thought back to the time where Elphaba had saved her by changing her heart to glass with magic.

"A few times… but it was never malicious in its intent. After all if it wasn't for her I would be dead by the Spanish Flu," she tried defending her guest the best she could.

"I'll be the judge of that," he said shortly as he covered his hands with gloves and made an attempt to unbutton her nightgown but she squirmed.

"Ms. Upland, I promise you that all I am going to do is look. I need to evaluate the seriousness of your condition," he said as he held his hands in the air, waiting for her approval.

"Are you a doctor?"

"No," he answered truthfully, "I'm an investor. But I like to make sure the people and things I am investing in are up to top notch."

"And what if they're not? What if I'm not up to top notch? What happens to me then?" her question was quiet and filled with underlying fright.

She met his gaze with her wide-eyed scared eyes. Her muscles were all tense and pulsing and she looked as if she was about to slam her knee into whatever body part of his it could reach.

"I won't let that happen," Chuffrey said sincerely and he meant it. That inner passion and desire within him for her wouldn't allow it. She was too pretty, too young, too beautiful to get rid of on accounts of her being associated with the Wicked Witch, "I can help you get through this, if you would like."

His face softened as he took in her skittish appearance.

"And how can you help me?"

"I'm the main investor here, as I told you. They don't get rid of people unless I give them my approval." _At least I don't think they do… as long as I can convince them to keep her then all will be well._

"Do you promise, Sir Chuffrey?" In listening to him she hadn't realized that he had undone all the buttons of her nightgown and was now waiting patiently with his hands in the air for her to relax and let him continue his work.

"William, call me William and yes, I promise," he said honestly. She looked at him for another moment before she completely relaxed against the table.

She kept her lips clamped shut as his fingertips grazed along the skin that had been stitched up too many times to count.

"May I?" he asked looking up from her chest.

Glinda wasn't so sure about this. Here she was, strapped down to a table letting a man assess the damage done to her by Elphaba. Letting him put his hands on her chest without so much as a protest.

She really was turning into a heartless monster.

The blonde nodded after a moment and kept the tears glistening in her eyes but never falling as Chuffrey cut loose each stitch.

Chuffrey was surprised that the skin was still as healthy looking as ever as he peeled it back to examine her heart. He was more than horrified and surprised at this whole claim of having a glass heart.

And as he looked, Chuffrey saw that it was more than true.

There was the glass heart, pulsing (Chuffrey could have sworn that the original information Mr. Boss had told him was that the heart did not pulse), taking and giving out blood as it beat on. But there was something strange… the capillaries and veins connected to the heart were not normal. In fact, they too were slowly turning to glass. Inch by inch the tubes suddenly gleamed as they transformed into the material. Chuffrey watched, horrified as the completion of one whole artery to glass took place right before his eyes in mere seconds.

William Chuffrey was a smart man and as he watched the insides of Glinda slowly turning to glass, he knew what this meant. Glinda, in a short time, would be entirely made out of glass.

"Is something wrong?" Glinda uttered with a grimace as she tried to close her eyes to block out the pain.

"No, nothing's wrong," said Chuffrey rushed. He did not, could not tear his eyes away.

"You sound horrified," Glinda smiled faintly, "Trust me, I'm actually glad I have it. Otherwise I would be six feet under."

 _You will be… in a matter of weeks_ , thought Chuffrey grimly as he watched as more and more of the arteries and capillaries were turned into glass.

This must be why they have her as bait. Once Elphaba realizes that Glinda will die if she turns completely to glass, she will have no choice but to save her friend and surrender herself or let her die. Though the question of how this information will be given to Elphaba was another matter.

Chuffrey chewed on his lower lip as he contemplated the scene before him. He had a choice, a hard choice to make. He could either tell Glinda what was happening and risk losing his job (and life possibly) or let this whole turn to glass thing slide under the rug until he saw it as a problem.

"Ms. Upland-"

"Glinda," her voice carried out in the early morning hours softly, "Just call me Glinda."

He coughed and then continued, "Glinda, then. Congratulations, Glinda. You passed my evaluation test."

It was a lie. In fact if Chuffrey had been going by his old standards Glinda would have already been killed and thrown off the train by now.

"What exactly does that mean? If it means that you'll untie me, I think I would be a lot happier to hear those words," said Glinda as her body twitched as a breeze of freezing morning air passed through the cart.

"Yes, yes of course I'll untie you," and with a few clicks of metal the restraints loosened and soon Glinda could move.

She breathed in slowly, relieved that that whole ordeal was over.

"I'll call in Yackle to um fix…that." he gestured to her opened wound in her chest.

"Thank you," she said softly as she attempted to sit up but faltered. Chuffrey extended out a hand swiftly and caught her just before she fell back against the table. It was a moment of quiet silence afterwards.

"What happens now, William? What will happen to me, to Elphaba, to Fiyero?" mused Glinda as the grave circumstances in which she was under suddenly hit her.

She wasn't a dumb blonde. Chuffrey observed that she was more than capable of figuring things out for herself.

He couldn't answer her truthfully because he didn't know what was to become of her. Mr. Boss could change his mind about her and the other one in a split second. She could potentially die as a mere innocent pawn in this horribly nasty and vicious game of theirs.

"I don't know," he said which did nothing for her nerves, "But I promise that when I find out I will tell you."

Her blue eyes seared intensely into his brown eyes. She seemed to be contemplating him, a twist of her head this way and that, all the while her eyes studying him, looking at his aged face and graying hair.

"Why are you being so generous and nice to me?" she asked suddenly as she pulled her knees to her chest, self-conscious of the huge hole in her body.

"Because you don't really belong here, that's why," he stated simply as he patted her hand and packed up his stuff.

"Well regardless of the reason, thank you," said Glinda once he turned to leave.

He looked back at her, and did everything he could to resist the urge to kiss her.

"Welcome to the Ozling Brothers' Circus, Glinda," he uttered as if it was a death sentence. Then he nodded, and left.

He walked away but not without leaving his heart for her to take.

Attraction, as he knew firsthand, could be the death of a person and he was now putting his own life and Glinda's too on the line.

He could only hope that the chips would fall in his favor…


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty:

They hadn't meant to go this far. It had just been a simple kiss that had developed into something more.

Elphaba didn't remember when her hands had settled on Fiyero's skin, roaming every inch of it. In turn, Fiyero didn't remember when his lips had crashed into hers or when they had so deliciously consumed and devoured their passions for each other.

But it was all over now. Done and over with and discarded into the past and the whispering breeze that swayed the branches of the forest trees.

Fiyero's fingers untangled themselves from Elphaba's locks of hair slowly.

"Hi," his greeting went unanswered for a while.

"Hi," Elphaba finally answered, eyes downcast.

Fiyero was puzzled, his hand found her chin and he lifted it up so that he could see her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing that the features on her face were not ones of being happy. He was slightly hurt but more concerned about what was the problem.

"It was me, wasn't it?" Fiyero began to ramble regardless that Elphaba did not directly answer him. He was so mad at himself, he had wanted that to be special for her and then he had unintentionally gone and ruined it.

"Fiyero," He paused in his rant about himself when he heard her voice. His eyes met hers.

"Nothing is wrong, it's just… I've never been so happy before." She gushed as a blush rose up in her cheeks, causing her skin to become a darker shade of green. Her words were true, she was happy. But a small part of her felt guilty. She still hadn't sorted out her feelings for Glinda and by consuming her passion with Fiyero she felt like she was betraying the petite blonde in more ways than one.

Fiyero smiled, thankful that she was not unhappy and a bit embarrassed that he had gone off about himself.

"Well, I am glad that I can make you so happy," he said as he linked his hand with hers. Her eyes went down and her lips trembled a bit at that.

"You shouldn't be able to do, I shouldn't have let either of you in and-" Elphaba stopped herself and then hung her head.

"They'll make you a target, you and Glinda if they already haven't," she whispered to him as if she was afraid of even the trees hearing her, "I'm dangerous Fiyero, and what we just did makes me incredibly stupid too. If they ever found out about us, they would kill you and Glinda too and-"

"I'm not afraid of them," said Fiyero as he put a finger to her lips, shushing her instantly, "And Glinda can take care of herself. These people who are after you will never find you. I'll protect you, I promise."

Elphaba smiled wanly.

"You have no idea what you're up against, you nor Glinda do."

"Guess we're going to have to take that chance, won't we?" said Fiyero as he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"We should get going back home, maybe Glinda came back," he added as he started to leave, his hand still in hers. Elphaba didn't move.

"Home," Elphaba liked the sound of that word on her tongue and she liked the image that appeared in her mind with it, Kiamo Ko. Her home would forever be where Fiyero and Glinda were. At least she had that figured out. She swore to herself and to Fiyero and Glinda in that moment that she would not let anything hurt them. She couldn't. They were her home, her security, and her safety net. She didn't know what she would do without them.

"Yes, let's go home," she said as she followed him out of the forest and back to the castle.

Neither of them had noticed the multitude of eyes that had been staring at them, perched on various places throughout the forest but all within sight so they could see their target. Once Elphaba and Fiyero left, the swarm of monkeys retreated back to their post to report on the news.

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" asked the new blonde recruit. She sat in front of Mr. Boss and Yackle, her pen grasped between her hesitant fingers hovering over the piece of paper. "  
After all, we do have a deal…"

"Sign it toots, I want it in writing," snapped Mr. Boss impatiently as he slid the paper across the table closer to Glinda. Yackle watched silently from the corner of the room like a cat waiting to pounce.

A scowl spread across Glinda's face. She was not used to taking orders, less than used to taking them from a dwarf. It had a mere hour since Chuffrey's evaluation of her and these people were already dragging her in to sign papers.

She knew better than to just sign this on a whim but she was tired, confused and ever so longing to go back to her cart and sleep the day away.

"Fine," she sighed to them and to her conscious she dismissed its worries. Her head was telling her not to sign but Glinda ignored it even though a feeling spread in her that told her she shouldn't.

She wrote her signature on the dotted line in neat and loopy handwriting.

_Glinda Upland_

She almost wrote down Glinda Tiggular but there was at least in this moment in time no chance of that ever happening so she wrote down her maiden name instead. Immediately after she signed the paper Mr. Boss snatched it away before she had any time to reconsider her involvement in this.

"Now that that's over," chirped the dwarf as he eased back into his chair, feet on the table, "We need to talk about a few payments we'll be needing in order to carry out the deed you have asked us to do."

"Money is no trouble for me," said Glinda with a careless shrug. Surely she could get a substantial amount of cash from the back if this train ever made its way back to the Vinkus.

The dwarf's eyes gleamed. A smile spread on his face.

"We're not talking about money, Blondie."

His words, once they had sunken in, sent shivers down her spine. The chair beneath her squeaked and groaned as she adjusted her crossed legs in fear. Her face was white and frightened. She struggled to make her voice seem strong and unafraid.

"Oh?" was all she could muster out of her throat.

The gleam remained in the dwarf's eyes.

"We've been studying your unique… condition and we want to use it to attract more customers and investors."

Glinda blinked and rearranged her hands in her lap, fidgeting with them. Yackle emerged from her corner while the dwarf intently stared at Glinda.

"How?" the blonde asked timidly, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She instinctively pulled at her nightgown/dress making sure she was covered in all the appropriate places. She was still though very afraid of what the answer might be.

"You'll find out soon enough," quipped Yackle.

Glinda raised her chin, not liking the fact that she got a vague answer.

"And if I refuse?" she was trying to act superior and important. Something she had somewhat mastered at Shiz.

"Then we kill you, simple as that." The dwarf cracked another smile.

The superiority Glinda was trying to convey disappeared in an instant. She felt a coldness spreading in her body, fear or something like it. She hadn't been expected that answer but she probably should have.

Glinda nodded dumbly, convincing herself and them that she knew she had made the right decision. There was no time to back out now. She had sold her soul to the devils or people in Oz that were the closest thing to being devils.

"Of course," she said simply.

"Glad you understand," spoke Yackle in a stern tone that told Glinda neither of them were kidding. If they had the chance to kill her, Glinda had no doubt that they would take their chance and run with it. She was meddling in the dangerous art of murder and killing and she as the customer had a price to pay.

The sound of a thousand wings suddenly filled the air and Glinda saw both Yackle and Mr. Boss exchanged glances.

"The Madame will give you more information on your part in this when she comes tomorrow," said Mr. Boss in a rushed sort of tone. He seemed to be wanting to rid his office of Glinda right away.

"Where will I be able to find her?" Glinda asked, curious of whom this Madame person was and ignoring the fact that they were rushing her to leave.

"She'll find you, trust me," Mr. Boss said with a roll of his eyes and then he looked away from her towards the door and tapped his fingers annoyingly. Glinda took that as her dismissal and hastily got up from the chair and left the room. As she passed through the carts back to her own, her thoughts were a spinning collection of her fears of being involved in such things. What had she really gotten herself into?

She paused in one of the carts and looked out the window, happily hoping that she would find a distraction from her thinking of her choices. And the fact that the sound of the wings had intrigued her was also a part in her choice to stop walking and see what the commotion was about. She looked outside to see that there were a huge flock of snow monkeys with wings, chattering away in actual language. These monkeys could speak… talk like any human could.

Glinda's eyes widened and she ducked from the window as soon as one of the monkeys nearly caught her stare.

They put her on edge, Yackle and Mr. Boss, and at times even Chuffrey but to add talking monkeys to the mix was just beyond bizarre and frightening.

Glinda didn't know what to think except that this was a part of this world, a circus, a place were she supposed that you were trained to expect the unexpected.


	31. Chapter 31

The house was eerily quiet when they arrived at its doors and stepped inside. Maybelle, who had been attending to the unannounced guest in the living room, heard the front door open and shut and went to investigate.

It had been two days since Glinda's disappearance and Maybelle was wondering if she would be seeing Glinda or Elphaba's face with Fiyero at the door. Her assumption was right of course, she noticed as she greeted Elphaba and Fiyero. They hadn't found the blonde yet.

"No sign of her?" Maybelle still could not refrain her tongue for commenting upon the subject further.

"No," said Fiyero with downcast eyes. He held Elphaba's hand in his own and that gesture was not ignored by Maybelle who flashed him some sort of a look when she noticed it.

"Well," continued Maybelle with a smile, "Hopefully this will cheer you both up. Miss Elphaba, your father is here to see you."

Maybelle had been expecting many reactions to such a topic but she never had seen Elphaba's before.

The green woman blanched fully, her dark green pigment turning almost white with a greenish hue to it. Her eyes went wide and frightened.

"W—what?" she managed to stutter out.

"Didn't Master Fiyero tell you that he was inviting him? I mean, he was the one who wrote the letter after all," Maybelle trailed off, looking horribly confused. She handed the letter that Frexspar the Godly had shoved in her hands once he arrived to Elphaba and let her read it.

"You did this? Fiyero I just told you, we can't drag any more people into this, nevertheless my father! He hates me and you know that! You've known how I feel about him for a while now! How could you, I trusted you!" Elphaba shouted suddenly full of color and rage.

Fiyero cowered under her wrath and didn't know what she was talking about. And then he remembered.

The letter. It was the letter that Glinda had supposedly written. But now Elphaba thought that he had written it instead and she hated him for it.

"Elphaba I-" he tried to explain himself but Elphaba took off to find her father in the house, letting the letter fall to the floor.

Even when she wasn't around, Glinda was still wreaking havoc for Fiyero and Elphaba.

* * *

The next day, Glinda woke up to the jerk of the train moving fast along a track. It seemed like they were heading even closer towards the city than they had been before. The events from yesterday were still fresh in her head. The fluttering sound of the monkeys had unsettled her terribly and all she wanted to do today was stay in her cart. But she had that meeting today, the one with 'The Madame.'

Truth be told, this circus was starting to frighten Glinda. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. She was trying to get someone killed… and this was the price she was going to pay for it. Being used by a team of freaks and the unusual just so that Elphaba could be out of the way so she could have Fiyero all to herself?

No, she had to stick to her decisions. There was no room for her to question herself about being wrong at this stage of the game. She had to go through with it, besides everything would be so much better once Elphaba was dead. Glinda would get to marry Fiyero and have her Mother actually acknowledge her as her daughter again.

Everything would be just perfect… right?

She wearily got up from the uncomfortable mattress she had been given after she had passed Chuffrey's test. There were folded clothes on the floor for her. Glinda half smiled at the nice gesture. It must have been Chuffrey; he had been the only one in this wretched place who was kind to her. He seemed to want to help her rather than to destroy her like the rest of these barbaric people wanted to do.

Well as long as she had one friend here, it couldn't be too bad.

She got changed into these new clothes, finding them to fit her perfectly. Glinda also found some new heels placed by her pillow and she put those on.

She felt brand new in these clothes and shoes, something that only materialistic things did to her confidence and personality. The dress was adorable. Bedazzled with sequins at the top, the material was a hot pink color. The skirt only went down to mid-thigh which was the shortest dress Glinda had ever worn save for the dance costumes, the bodice accentuated her curves just right with a sweetheart neckline, and the matching shoes gave her a new kick to her step.

Glinda guessed that this would be her costume as long as she was here and she found that she could live with that.

She fretted over her appearance though in the spare mirror she had found in the room. She didn't know how high up this Madame woman was and she didn't want to disappoint or under-whelm her.

If Glinda really was going to commit to asking these people to kill Elphaba for her, she had to do her part and go through with her part of the bargain.

The blonde had been too busy paying attention to whether her eyebrows were groomed to perfection or whether her upper lip was fatter than her lower to hear the car door open and shut behind her.

She didn't realize that someone was behind her until it was too late. She crumpled to the ground seconds after the mystery person muttered something under their breath.

The next thing Glinda knew was that she was sitting in a chair with a blindfold covering her eyes.

"I don't quite understand what this is all about?" ventured Glinda once she regained consciousness and realized that she was probably being held hostage, "Should I be worried about my well-being?"

"Not at all, dearie," said a voice,"In fact you will be delighted with what we have to tell you."

Glinda's nose crinkled. She knew that voice, that noise that was filled with such distain and dislike when speaking with her.

"We have fantastic offer for you," this time the voice was not familiar. It was a male's though, that she knew.

"Well, I would like to see the people that offer me things," retorted the blonde quite sharply. She had no time for these games.

"Of course dearie, of course," came the voice that was all too familiar to the blonde.

The blindfold was suddenly removed from her face. Glinda blinked repeatedly as her eyes adjusted to not seeing complete darkness. The color and light of the sights before her blinded her momentarily. Then the two people who had just talked with her were now visible to her. She shifted a bit in her chair and looked up at them and the office that they were currently sitting in.

"Madame Morrible?" she exclaimed. She couldn't believe she didn't put that together sooner. She hadn't seen the fish-like woman since she had left Shiz but the older woman's face was utterly recognizable.

Her eyes of blue drifted to the other person to see if she knew him as well but she was utterly confused when she saw him.

He was older, maybe around the same age as Horrible Morrible but definitely not younger. She also had an impression that she did know who he was. But it couldn't be possible could it?

So, Glinda asked, "And who are you?"

He tipped the rim of his hat in her direction, straightened out his suit, and smiled at her gently with his wrinkled face.

"Why, my dear… I am the great and powerful Wizard of Oz."

Glinda already knew that but even so she kept her face surprised.

"I don't understand…" she trailed off, pretending to be dumb, and looked to Madame Morrible for an answer.

"I've risen up in the world, dear Galinda… or is it Glinda now?" The woman didn't seem to care if she got an answer or not for she continued speaking anyways, "I now work for the most highest and grandest of people, the man next to me included. Speaking of which, The Wizard and I have heard of your request and we wanted to tell you more about our terms than the dwarf can."

"You see, dearie, we're the people in charge of this little circus and it's operations. We are the people that Mr. Boss and Yackle work for," Morrible looked scary in that moment, threatening was more like it.

A moment of silence passed as Glinda processed that.

"So you know I want Elphaba killed?" Glinda was looking for confirmation, something that told her that these people could be trusted.

"Yes, we do," answered the Wizard, "We know that you want to kill her because you want your prince all to yourself, which is something we don't blame you for."

Glinda didn't know whether to thank him or to be appalled that the ruler of Oz knew so much about her life.

In the end, she nodded and clasped her hands together in her lap.

"What are your terms?" she asked hesitantly.

Morrible cleared her throat in preparation of a big lengthy speech.

"In order to kill Miss Thropp, there must be an extreme amount of planning and deception used beforehand. We have the same goal as you, dearie. We would like our little Miss Elphaba dead too so don't think that we will betray you in the end."

She smiled at the blonde; which gave the younger woman the shudders.

"I don't know how much you know about her past… but we plan on using a certain someone to… be the bait in this situation."

"Do you… do you mean me?" inquired the blonde fearfully. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

"No, no, not you, dearie. Just," Morrible licked her lips, "someone else. And then once they are… disposed of, the real heroine of our story will come. You will go to Munchkinland to bring her here. After that, it's all in her hands and you will be able to stay here under our protection until Elphaba is dead. Then you will be able to be reunited with your prince once more."

The tone, which Morrible was using, gave Glinda the impression that she was hiding more information from her and Glinda was apprehensive of that.

"How do you know all of this?" she asked. A million thoughts were running through her mind. What if they were wrong? What if this assassin didn't kill Elphaba, what would happen then?

"The Time Dragon Clocks knows all and then some," replied Morrible with a smug smirk.

"I don't want Fiyero or anyone else to get hurt," she blurted out suddenly, thinking that the older woman was hinting that she would use Fiyero or someone else, but she mainly meant Fiyero, to get to Elphaba also.

"Never, dearie. I would never let anyone get hurt in this kind of arrangement if they didn't have to." Morrible looked shocked that Glinda would accuse her of such a thing. She clasped a ring-adorned hand to her chest; which was covered with a disgusting velvet orange fabric that was her dress. Her wild hair made her face seem more shocked than normal.

"I mean it. Fiyero gets hurt and I'm out," the blonde stood her ground on this subject.

Morrible laughed, a sickening sound, "Oh dearie you really are too much. We wouldn't do that to your beau. Shall we send for him too? Just so he doesn't accidentally end up in the way of our assassin?"

The way she said that, it was almost as if she was taunting Glinda with the thought of Fiyero being hurt.  
And the blonde couldn't resist agreeing when she was being taunting.

"Yes, send for Fiyero," she said without a second thought.

Morrible exchanged conniving smiles with the Wizard and Glinda felt uneasy about making that decision for Fiyero.

But then again, if Fiyero came then she would have an abundant amount of time to convince him that he should marry her. Maybe if he were here, he would forget all about Elphaba and only want to be with her.

That thought brought a cruel smile to the blonde's face.

"We'll meet again when the time comes for you to extract our assassin." The blunt statement was Madame Morrible's way of telling her to be dismissed.

Glinda got up to leave when her old headmistress called out to her.

"Oh and one more thing, dearie… it's about your heart," Morrible waited until the last second to bring this up.

"What about my heart?" asked Glinda a bit suspicious as to where this was going. She turned and waited for some sort of a reply with bated breath.

"Chuffrey didn't tell you?" Morrible sounded appalled and horrified. The Wizard looked shocked as well.

Glinda's face drained, "Tell me what?"

The two other people in the room grew silent until Glinda casted them a look so stern that Morrible cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Tell you that unless we kill Elphaba, that spell that she casted on you will…" she paused dramatically, "It will continue to spread until your entire body is glass."

Glinda's mouth dropped. Her world felt like it was spinning and collapsing in on itself.

"It-it will-what?" she managed to get out in horrified stutters.

"The spell that she casted on you is irreversible… unless the-said caster of the spell, whom in this case is Elphaba, dies then all the spells she ever recited will be permanent," explained Morrible, "So time, especially for you, is of the utmost importance."

"How long?" The blonde felt as if she was struggling to breathe, nevertheless ask questions even though she did.

"We don't know how much time you have left, that's why we want to get this done as quickly as possible," said The Wizard with sympathy gleaming in his eyes. He seemed genuinely concerned for her, whereas Morrible only pretended to.

"So my job is to collect the heroine after this so called bait is disposed of, and then to stay here at the circus until you complete your mission," said the blonde; trying to make sure she had it all done.

"And while you're here, you will be at the mercy of Mr. Boss, who will surely put you in the show due to your unique heart," Morrible's words were not comforting but either way Glinda nodded.

"When do we start?" she asked.


	32. Chapter 32

The tapping of his fingers against the table was all she heard and that was enough to tip Elphaba off into knowing which room her father was in.

She rushed in the dining room without so much as a word of greeting and slammed a hand down in front of his plate on the table.

"Why are you here?" she growled fiercely. She wanted this man out of their house as soon as possible. Her father was not an easy person to be raised by or to deal with.

"Where's Nessa?" he countered back with, "I know you have her, you wicked witch!" He stood up, furious, and glared at her. Elphaba stared back at him just as intently. This was the first time she had seen her father since she had been taken away by the circus. The. Very. First. Time.

He had thinned out some, his head was balder but he still wore his robes of worship that she so vividly remembered him wearing.

"I don't know where she is," barked back Elphaba with her hands on her tiny hips.

"Don't play dumb with me, I know you have her! This is all a part of your elaborate scheme to get back at me!" shot back Frex.

"My issues with you have nothing to do with Nessa," said Elphaba, trying to stay calm but she had passed that point, "I need to know why you came here."

"I told you," Frex said in a low growl, "I came here for Nessa!"

Elphaba's hands clenched at her sides, "I. Don't. Have. Her," she seethed at him. Her skin became darker and she looked at her father furiously.

In that moment they both seemed to give up at trying to get the other person to answer their question. Their angry expressions were still on their faces but they were less intense.

"I wasn't going to come here, at first," spoke up Frex as they stewed in bitter silence, "I didn't think much of Fiyero's note. I didn't believe it at first considering the fact I thought you were dead. And then Nessa went missing and I received this other note."

"What other note?" Elphaba's head snapped up from her lap to meet her father's eyes.

He pulled something out from beneath the folds of his clothes and handed it to her. Elphaba warily unfolded it and her eyes scanned the piece of parchment.

_I have our precious Nessarose. There is no chance of you seeing her ever again. I know how much that will destroy you and I am glad of it._

At the bottom was a signature but Elphaba knew that it wasn't hers. Someone was trying to frame her. And she knew exactly who it was.

"This isn't my handwriting," she stated as she gave it back to him. He looked at her before he took the note back.

"And how the hell should I have known that? I put two and two together and figured that you and this prince had kidnapped Nessarose to get revenge on me. I know how useful you are with magic. I figured you probably magicked him to do your bidding and then-"

"I am not who you think I am!" she shouted at him, "I am not the child that I used to be."

"You're a freak," he hissed at her, "You always have been. That will never change for me."

"I'm your daughter!" Elphaba let the words slip past her lips. She knew that Frex didn't consider her as a daughter but as more of a slave but she felt it needed to be said.

"You are not," he said through his teeth as his whole body tensed up, "You are nothing but an abomination. You are no daughter of mine."

"Mother would have called me her daughter," spoke up Elphaba. She was shaking although she couldn't pinpoint why.

"That does you no good, she's dead!" roared Frex, "She's dead and it's all your fault in case you've forgotten!"

She blanched at that comment and nearly lost her balance. She hadn't forgotten. That fact had only tormented her for her entire life. No, she would never forget that.

"Nessa stills calls me a sister," she said even though she had no idea if it was true or not. She was desperate to show her father, to prove to him that she was not unloved.

"Your sister believes that you up and left us. She calls you nothing of the sort," snapped Frex. A gleam filled his eyes as he realized that he was winning.

"I wouldn't do this," protested Elphaba, getting back to the topic at hand but her father only laughed at her.

"Course you would. You would do anything to get back at me for making your childhood miserable," he said the words with truthfulness.

"I would, but not Nessa. I would never do anything that would harm Nessa and you know that!" she fired back at him. If there was one thing that she knew she could always count upon herself to do was to take care of her sister. She had been forced to be devoted to Nessa but by the time she was eight, she had grown to love and care for her like any sister should. It had nearly killed her when the circus took her away from Nessa.

Frex looked at her and swallowed. He was not going to say that she was right but the look in his eyes said it for him. "But what about this prince fellow?"

"Fiyero has nothing to do with this," she growled as she promptly sat down in a chair, her legs tired from standing so rigidly.

The man's eyebrows went up. "So quick to defend… don't tell me you've fallen for him?"

Her eyes went down.

He laughed, "Oh this is too rich! You know he's betrothed…"

"She…. Left," Elphaba chewed on her words carefully.

"Don't think that she won't come back," said Frex with a smug smile, "If I were her I wouldn't even be able to fathom the idea of my prince with a freak like you. She'll be back to reclaim him soon enough and you'll be alone…. As you should be."

He stood up to leave, his robes rustling as he did so.

"Let me know if you find my Nessarose," he said hollowly without looking at her.

"And if you find her will you let me know?" asked Elphaba. She did care about her sister still, even if Nessa didn't care about her.

But Elphaba took his silence and his footsteps walking out of the room as a no. She hung her head and buried it in her arms. She began to cry in the bitter silence of the dining room by herself.

She could never be happy for too long, could she?

Fiyero came knocking at the door a while later. He had seen Frex leaving and wanted to give her some space before he saw her.

"Elphaba?" he asked as he opened the door. He peered inside to look for her and he found her sitting at the table, crying.

His heart broke for her. It was horrible, awful at the least to see Elphaba cry. Here was someone who was so strong… he hated seeing her so weak.

"Fae," he said softly as he appeared next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay…."

"Go away," she said tearfully. When his hand didn't move she flinched it off.

"I said go away!" she shouted at him, tears streaming down her face leaving burn marks in their path.

"Elphaba you're hurt, let me help," Fiyero tried to offer her a napkin or something like that to wipe her tears away but she refused it. Her head fell back into her hands.

Feeling a bit useless and hurt, Fiyero turned to leave.

"I'm sorry, Elphaba. We'll find her though," he said. He wasn't stupid; he had been listening on the other side of the door during the 'father daughter' fight. He had heard everything.

"No, we won't…. Mr. Boss and his creeps have her, I'll never see her again," sobbed Elphaba as her hands covered her face.

"Don't say that," Fiyero tried to comfort her but she didn't respond. He paused and waited for several minutes for her to say something else.

"I love you," he said softly as he opened the door to leave.

She didn't reply with words… only the sounds of her tears.

* * *

The routine was quite simple. Wake up, eat, train, eat, train some more, eat, and then sleep. Glinda was used to this sort of vigorous schedule, dance had her nearly running ragged. But dance paled in comparison to the type of training that Glinda would have to endure.

Her first day was gruesome. It was hot, sweaty, and utterly painful. She had to learn how to walk on a tightrope; which was no easy feat. She fell more than a hundred times and nearly dislocated her shoulder. And after every fall, the blonde had to remind herself why she was doing this. Fiyero. She was doing this for Fiyero and Fiyero alone.

At lunch she sat alone. She was not interested in socializing with these social rejects. She was here to get a job done and she was going to do it alone. Or at least that's what she planned until Chuffrey decided to sit with her at lunch.

"Sitting alone are we?" he remarked as he slid onto the bench next to her with a smile. Glinda, who had been consumed in the variety of vegetables on her plate, looked up, startled.

"How's your first day been?" he asked politely.

"You're acting like this is the first day of school," commented Glinda with a roll of her eyes and her tone bored, "Fine. I'm a bit sore though. Falling off a tightrope isn't exactly what I imagined doing when I came here for help."

She looked at him, "Why are you here? I thought you were some sort of investor/inspector?"

"I am," he said with a smile, "And I don't know… I guess I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Meaning you wanted to see if I was still alive?" she asked as she finished off her drink and set it down on the table.

She noticed that Chuffrey's face dropped a little.

"What?" she asked, taken back by the look on his face. He looked around at the loud crowds of circus people around them before he spoke.

"You know?" he asked. Immediately Glinda knew what he was talking about. They were talking about her heart. Her glass condition that was expanding to other parts of her body so rapidly.

She paled.

"Yes, of course I know. The Madame told me yesterday," she said quietly so that no one else could hear.

Chuffrey wanted to scream at her 'Then why are you still here?' Didn't she have any idea what she was getting into? These people were dangerous.

"Come with me," he said quickly as he grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the table and behind a tent. The wind flew the tent's flaps up in the air so you could see the two of them talking secretively but only if you stared for a long time, long enough to see the flaps fly up revealing their figures.

"Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into?" he hissed at her.

The blonde was startled. She thought she knew.

"I think so," she said but her tone was unconvincing.

"These people will not stop until you are dead," he whispered in her ear.

Glinda shook her head, "No, no you misunderstood. I hired them to kill Elphaba. They told me that I would be able to go back to Fiyero afterwards."

"You walked right into their trap," said Chuffrey hollowly as he stared at her, "You walked right into it and you didn't even realize it."

"What are you talking about?" asked Glinda. This conversation was starting to scare her. She brought her arms over her chest and shuddered as the cold wind blew her clothes and hair.

"They've been planning this for months. This trap to kill Elphaba. You didn't give them the assignment Glinda, they already had it. You just have them the opportunity. They're not going to kill Elphaba, they're going to kill you… and your fiancé too. Don't you get it, you two are the bait!"

"I don't… I don't…understand," got out Glinda, who was shocked to her core, "Morrible said-"

"Morrible, you're trusting Morrible? You can't trust her!" whispered Chuffrey fiercely as he leaned closer towards her so that their words could be kept secret, "You can't trust anybody. You shouldn't even trust me as much as you do. You need to leave, you need to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving," protested Glinda with a glare. Her hands were on her hips and her mind was set, "I can't leave. I made a deal, I signed a contract!"

"Damn the contract, they're going to kill you anyways just for being associated with her!" Chuffrey wanted to shake her. He wanted her to understand how dangerous this was.

"Glinda, they want Elphaba to be their enemy. They want her to be the enemy that all of Oz hates so that the country can be unified again. Times are hard, people are starving, people are poor, and they need something to tie them together. They're going to use her for their propaganda scheme so that everyone's minds can get off the fact that we're in this Depression of sorts. You've read about the riots, the fighting… The Wizard believes that it will all stop if they defeat this so-called enemy," he explained so quietly that Glinda could barely hear him.

"But why her?"

Chuffrey sighed, "She's different. She's an outcast and she has a lot of rage towards the Wizard and Morrible ever since they forced her to come here. She's the perfect person to be an enemy of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. They've already decided to call her a Wicked Witch."

Glinda was quiet for a long time. And then she started to laugh. Her giggles echoed throughout the entire site and filled the air.

"Why are you laughing?" asked Chuffrey angrily.

"Because… that's the most ridiculous thing… I've ever heard!" she chortled as she held her side.

Chuffrey's face fell. He really thought that she would have listened to him. Out of everyone here, he was the one that she could really trust. He didn't want to see her get hurt, or worse killed. She was too pretty; too young to die like this.

But she wouldn't listen and with that fact in his brain, Chuffrey knew what he had to do.

He leaned in close and kissed her softly… she was as good as dead in his mind. He didn't say anything, didn't tell her how wrong she was and how she would be sorry for not listening to him in the end. He just kissed her. After a good minute he pulled away and left, ignoring her pleas for him to come back. He was not going to stick around and watch this. He was not going to stick around and watch her live this lie of a life when he knew the truth.

He had tried to warn her... but she didn't listen.


	33. Chapter 33

"Hey," said Fiyero softly the next morning when he found Elphaba still at the dining room table, "Did you sleep last night?  
Elphaba, who was already awake and who had been for most of the night, shook her head. "No, I couldn't sleep."

She didn't want to tell him about the nightmares she had last night while accidentally falling asleep on the table. Horrible, terrible nightmares… visions of the people in her life that she knew and cared about.

But apparently Fiyero figured it out for himself by the expression on her face.

"Did you have bad dreams?" he asked hesitantly as he sat down next to her and grasped her hand gently.

She didn't look at him. She couldn't. If she did then she would break completely and she did not want that to happen.

"No," she answered softly.

"Fae," he pressed with a tone in his voice, "You can tell me anything."

She sighed heavily as she straightened up in her chair, letting the kinks in her back and neck out as she did so.

"It was nothing."

Fiyero could tell from her voice though that it wasn't.

"What happened?" he was so insistent sometimes.

"I just had some really weird dreams," admitted Elphaba as she ran her fingers through her hair to untangle it.

"About what? About whom?" Fiyero really wanted to help her. He felt so guilty about yesterday and what happened with her father that he wanted to make things right.

Flashes of the dream found their way back into Elphaba's mind. Fiyero being turned to straw here. Glinda shattering into a million pieces there.

It was too outrageous, too outlandish to be even considered remotely true, right? Nothing of the sort could happen… could it?

"It was about you… and Glinda," Elphaba said slowly, "And these figures that were cloaked in darkness… I couldn't see their faces. But somehow…somewhere they managed to kill both of you. It was as if it was in their plans for you two to die. And I blamed myself for letting it happen," she looked at him and smiled grimly as she recounted the events.

"How did we die?" asked Fiyero curiously. He was actually quite frightened now. It wasn't everyday that he heard a friend talking about a dream that they had about him and Glinda dying. It certainly was a weird thing to talk about.

"You somehow managed to turn into some sort of scarecrow… I don't really remember the rest," admitted the green woman as she closed her eyes, trying to envision herself in the dream once more, "Glinda shattered into pieces but I can't remember why. I'm sorry," she opened her eyes, "I wish I could remember more but I don't."

"Nothing of your sister?" inquired Fiyero as the room squeaked and made various noises in the silence that came after his question. The maids were busy attending to the other rooms while this one was being occupied.

Elphaba's lips pursed together which told Fiyero that she was about to lie to him.

"No."

Fiyero blew out a breath and shook his head, "I know you're lying."

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet," she snapped back at him, getting up from the table quickly. All of the images began to flood her mind again and Elphaba was growing agitated with them. She began to pace back and forth in the room with her arms crossed. One hand was at her mouth with her teeth biting down on her knuckles as she walked.

"Elphaba," Fiyero said softly as he put both of his muscular hands on her bony shoulders, stopping her from pacing anymore, "These are just dreams. You don't need to be so worried."

The look that she gave him next frightened him to the core. It was as if lighting had struck her or somebody had thrown water on her. Her face was pale, pale green. Her eyes were wide and frightened like of someone who knew they were going to die just before the moment came. Her whole body grew utterly still.

"They're not though. They've happened before," Elphaba got out vaguely. She didn't include the tales of her past where she had these types of dreams before and their outcomes.

"Elphaba…that's impossible," said Fiyero slowly as it all sunk in, "No one can see the future."

"I can," she said softly as she attempted to give him a comforting smile. It didn't work out though for it crumbled on her lips and she ended up fighting back tears.

"You're just worried," Fiyero said confidently. He was determined to prove her wrong, "You had these dreams because you're upset with what happened with your father, deep down you miss Glinda, you're afraid of your future with me, and you're scared for your sister. That's all this is," he said as he kissed her softly on the lips.

Elphaba wanted to break away from this kiss and tell him that he was wrong. Tell him that she really did know what she was talking about. But his explanations made sense as well. Or was it that she was bending them to make sense in her mind?

"I guess you're right," she said after they had both pulled away. "I'm being a bit paranoid. I guess I always have been."

She kept her true feelings inside though. She let him have his moment of being right.

Fiyero beamed and smiled at her.

"It's okay," he said, "I love you even with all of your crazy visions."

Elphaba smiled back at him and fell into his embrace as he hugged her.

"Why did you save me?" she asked thinking back to that night when Fiyero and Glinda had shown up at her cage and took her away with them.

"Because you deserve to be saved," whispered the prince into her ear, "Can't you see how amazing you are?"

"I'm not amazing," stated Elphaba in a disbelieving tone. No one had ever told her that she was worth anything, nevertheless called her amazing.

"You are, and I think Glinda saw that too. But she was scared of it, she was scared of you," Fiyero said softly as he kissed her cheek. His thoughts went back to the blonde. He remembered how uptight she was when they had taken Elphaba in and he knew that she saw greatness in Elphaba as well. It was just that Glinda was scared of it while Fiyero embraced it.

"I'm not scary," said Elphaba, "Or at least I hope I'm not."

"You have this certain quality about you that Glinda feared. You act so much older than you are. I think that's what scared her. Glinda's always been a little naïve, a little ignorant to the world around her. Having you here opened her up to things she never even knew about and that frightened her."

"What things?" asked Elphaba with a snort. She never thought herself one for being cultural or interesting.

"You showed her tolerance, you showed her the dark side of Oz, the dark side of herself. Elphaba, before you I don't think Glinda had ever even pondered over kissing another woman. You did something to her that changed her. You did it to me too."

Elphaba was stunned. She never thought she had any power. All she had was her magick and that caused destruction and desolation.

"I know you saw it happen to her. You love her too," pointed out Fiyero gently, "Even though she's deeply shallow and genuinely self-absorbed you love her and so do I."

Elphaba took in a deep breath as her mind was now filled with Glinda.

"But she hates us now, she hates us for kissing and if she knew what else we had done she'd-"

"Glinda cannot hate," interrupted Fiyero as he held Elphaba close in his arms, "She has seen too much hate from her mother, she could never reciprocate it. She gets angry and she makes stupid, selfish actions with dire consequences but she does not hate. She gets upset, depressed at times even but her conscious always follows through. Even if it's too late, she does regret her actions."

"She seemed to hate me the first time she met me," recalled Elphaba a bit stiffly. She remember the dagger glares the blonde had given her on their carriage ride to Kiamo Ko, and the icy comments she had made.

"That's the Ice Queen in her coming out," explained Fiyero, "I've known her long enough to know that her icy demeanor is a cover up for when she's feeling undeniably hurt and pained. It's a façade, a scary one that she uses to hide her feelings."

"She does it very well," commented Elphaba dryly.

"She's been practicing a long time," said Fiyero softly, "She's had to."

He kissed Elphaba on the lips slowly, "She's not like you. She's seen a different Oz than you have… but it still had its challenges and its obstacles."

"I don't doubt that," murmured Elphaba breathlessly as she pulled away after a few moments.

"We need to find her, so we can make things right with her," said Fiyero suddenly as he looked at Elphaba. "I think we both need her."

"We can't all be happy, Fiyero," said Elphaba slowly. She didn't want him to think that once Glinda came back that they all would be together again. There would be too much tension, too much history for it to ever work.

"But you want both of us so why can't you have both of us?" asked Fiyero.

"Glinda will never agree."

"Glinda's a coward!" shouted back Fiyero suddenly enraged.

"I remember when I once said those words about her to you and you defended her," said Elphaba hauntingly, "Fiyero I am not about to go along with this!"

"So are you saying that when the time comes that you would choose between her or me?" asked Fiyero as he moved his hands off of her.

"Yes," said Elphaba honestly, "I would have to. It would be painful of course but it would have to be done. I couldn't let you two live on in your fool's paradise."

Silence lingered between them after Fiyero took a couple steps back from her.

"Whom would you choose?" his voice came out harsh.

"Fiyero…" Elphaba sighed, "This is ridiculous. I'm sorry I even brought it up."

The prince seemed to relax. He took her answer as that she would choose him and he was glad.

"Alright. I'm sorry," he apologized as he stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him.

"I love you," he said as he leaned in for another passionate kiss.

"I-" Elphaba was just about to say the same when she stopped suddenly and gasped. She reeled backwards from his body and her eyes didn't blink. Her facial expression though looked as if she was terrified.

"Elphaba…?" Fiyero was scared. Her behavior was worrying him. "What's wrong?"

He was ready to call the doctor or anyone at her word.

But all she said was, "Nessa. Something's wrong with Nessa."


	34. Chapter 34

The same day, Glinda woke up to feeling very, very much alone. Now that Chuffrey had up and left she didn't have many friends here left at the circus. Everyone seemed to look at her as if they had already known that she was coming and decided to ignore her.

It was supposed to be another day of training and eating but that was not the case for Glinda. Today in the middle of training, Mr. Boss came up to her very discretely, nearly frightening her, and whispered in her ear, "The Madame requires her service of you. Tent number five on the far side."

Glinda left training as quickly as she could and found the tent that Mr. Boss had described to her. She lifted one tent flap up and entered it.

"We meet again, Miss Upland," came Morrible's voice.

Glinda spun around in her costume, her pink skirt flying around her legs, and saw Morrible sitting regally behind a desk.

"Mr. Boss said you required my services," Glinda said shortly. Her mind reflected on what Chuffrey had told her and she decided to be as cautious as she could be about this whole thing.

"I do, it's time for you to collect our savior."

Glinda had an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach about this.

"How exactly do you want me to do that?" the blonde asked her old headmistress.

Morrible smiled, her smiles were always cruel.

"I remember your flare for the dramatics when you were at Shiz, for your task today I require you to… act as if you were someone else. A disguise really."

Glinda felt her mouth and throat grow dry with fear and anticipation.

"Why?"

"We need you to convince our heroine that she is on the right side. You will act as if you are a beloved political official by the name of Glinda the Good. You will call yourself the Good Witch of the North; no one will dispute you seeing as they have never met such a person because she is kept hidden in the shadows. You will say that the Wizard of Oz will help our heroine get back to her homeland. But make sure you find the shoes of our deceased bait first and put them on her feet before you leave otherwise this plan will be for nothing. Those shoes are the key to this plan will then lead the girl down the Yellow Brick Road until no one can see her or you and then you shall say a spell and bring her here."

"I'm to kidnap her?" exclaimed Glinda.

"Well, of course dearie she isn't going to come willingly," said Morrible with a roll of her eyes.

"I-I don't know," said the blonde hesitantly. She thought of Chuffrey and how he had warned her and suddenly felt apprehensive about doing this.

Morrible nodded at her comment, "I thought you would be," she said as she took out a rather strange object. It was an orb of murky glass, its interior clouded because of the mist inside of it. Madame Morrible raised one hand over it and suddenly Glinda could see the forms of Elphaba and Fiyero kissing.

"Do you really want your prince to end up with this… this Witch?" gagged Morrible, "All you have to do is kidnap this girl… and you leave the rest up to us. We will kill Elphaba for you, we will end her life so you can start yours as Princess Glinda of the Vinkus…"

She watched as Glinda was mesmerized by the trick, staring deeply into the crystal. The old woman knew the blonde couldn't resist fighting for what she thought was rightfully hers. It was her weak spot.

"Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Glinda swallowed as the image suddenly was gone. She took a moment to answer and to let her mind come back to reality. Her heart though was still hurting from the image.

"Yes, it is," she replied softly. She couldn't deny that that's what she wanted. But there was something inside of her that strangely wanted both Elphaba and Fiyero to want her, to love her. Once she killed Elphaba, there would be no chance of that ever happening.

"Good," said Morrible encouragingly, "Now go get dressed."

She tossed the blonde a heavy blue glittering ball gown, heels, and a tiara.

Minutes later the blonde woman returned looking like a royal princess. The dress fit her just right, with the hustle and bustle sparkling in the light. The tiara mingled well with her curls and the shoes were hidden underneath that skirt.

"Madame I can't do this," admitted the blonde as she twisted her hands in front of her stomach nervously.

"Oh but dearie we need you. You can't back out now," said Morrible as she stood up and put one hand on Glinda's shoulder.

"Now you will be traveling by bubble to your destination. All you have to do is learn this simple spell," Morrible recited it and had Glinda try it out, knowing that she had touched upon sorcery at Shiz.

Glinda summoned the bubble and surprisingly was quite pleased with herself.

"Don't screw this up," warned Morrible with an edge to her tone as she shoved a silver wand into the blonde's grasp.

Glinda remained silent with fear.

Morrible left her with these words floating around in her head as she took off, stepping into the bubble lightly.

"This is what you wanted from the beginning… so smile and wave… and go bring back our assassin!"

* * *

It happened so quickly that no one really knew what events took place first. All they knew was that one minute Nessarose Thropp was speaking about her days of being kidnapped and the next a cyclone appeared with a house that landed on her, killing her instantly. The citizens of Munchkinland were horrified to say the least.

Glinda arrived just in time. Descending in her pink bubble, she floated down towards the Center Munch and graciously greeted her people.

"Look it's Glinda!" cried out one and the blonde realized that Morrible and her cronies probably planted a few people here to make it look like she was official.

"Yes, it's me!" she laughed as her bubble popped and she stepped out onto the Yellow and Red Brick roads.

She was all smiles and waves to the Munchkins... that is until she saw the house.

When her gaze landed on the dilapidated excuse for a house her breath stopped. Her face went pale when she saw the shoes. She knew immediately whom the shoes had belonged to she was not uncivilized. They had belonged to Nessarose Thropp, Elphaba's younger sister. She hadn't realized that when Morrible had said shoes that she had meant the most famous shoes in all of Oz, the ones belonging to Nessa.

Glinda's heart sank as she realized this. She guessed, no, she knew that Elphaba would be devastated when she found out.

Nessa must have been the bait all along.

Covering up the fact that she was upset, Glinda retrieved the shoes herself and then moved along in the crowd until she came to the girl, the one they called the murderer.

She was a child really, of ten maybe eleven with big brown eyes, brown hair in pigtails and a gingham blue and white-checkered dress on. The yapping dog at her heels was a nuisance though.

"Are you the one whose house landed on the Wicked Witch of The East?" asked Glinda to the child. She noticed that she was above Munchkin height, too small to be Gillikinese, and she wasn't a Quadling or a Winkie so she must have been from some place far, far away.

"Yes," answered the child timidly, "But I didn't mean to kill her, honestly! I swear! I wasn't piloting the house, oh I am so very sorry!"

"The citizens of Oz and I would like to congratulate you. The Wicked Witch has been terrorizing the citizens of Munchkinland for many years and you have finally brought them peace. And by the power vested in me by my title of Glinda the Good, the Good Witch of The North, I hereby decree that The Wizard of Oz will grant your request to go home."

The girl looked shocked, "But how did you know that?"

"My dear, I work with The Wizard, we are a team. Everything he knows, I know," lied Glinda. She was making up stuff as she went, just trying to get the girl to trust her.

"Who are you?" asked the girl, looking mesmerized at the full look of Glinda.

She was like a glittering Christmas tree full of sparkle and pep but something you should not get too close to for it could prick you.

"I am Glinda The Good, The Good Witch of The North," repeated the blonde even though she had already said it.

"It's very nice to meet you, Glinda," the girl curtseyed, "I am Dorothy Gale of Kansas, and this," she motioned to the annoying thing at her heels, "is Toto my dog."

The dog yapped in agreement.

Glinda forced a smile on her face at the dog and pretended to think the animal endearing and cute.

"How adorable," commented the blonde dryly as she smiled.

The citizens of Munchkinland were up in arms all around her about the girl, shouting suggestions at Glinda and whatnot.

"She should be Nessa's successor!"

"Dorothy should be crowned Queen of Oz!"

Glinda was the one who had to quiet them all down and make them understand what was going to happen.

"Now, now, those are all lovely suggestions but I have strict orders from The Wizard himself to take the girl to The Emerald City with me right away."

"Oh thank you, Miss Glinda, how very good of you!" gushed the child as she beamed a youthful smile.

"But before I do so," Glinda said this quickly for she didn't want an argument to occur and she knew that this would be the topic of discussion for the day, "I shall give the beloved shoes of The Wicked Witch of The East to Dorothy Gale, the savior of our great Munchkinland."

Glinda knew that she couldn't leave these shoes here. She knew their value and their importance.

With a wave of her wand and a quick jog of her memory, Glinda recited a spell that she had learned at Shiz, causing the bedazzled shoes to appear on he child's feet.

"Oh, how lovely… look how they sparkle!" Dorothy exclaimed. Glinda found the child's voice sickening to listen to with its sweet tone and trembling quiver.

She caught the child's arm and pulled her close, the girl's dress brushing up against the sequins of her own as the crowds clapped in applause and adoration.

"We will be on our way now," said Glinda rushed as she sort of dragged the girl through the crowd and down the Yellow Brick Road the little dog following behind, " I shall see you all soon!" rang out the blonde as she smiled and waved like she was supposed to.

When Dorothy, Toto, and herself got about halfway down the Yellow Brick Road Glinda could see that the Munchkins had retreated back into their homes and could not see them anymore.

Glinda stopped walking and looked over at Dorothy who was marveling at every little thing she saw.

"Oh we don't have such things in Kansas!"

"What a funny thing to have a road of yellow brick… why do you have it?"

"Who is this other Wicked Witch that everyone was talking about? Is she as wicked as they say she is?"

"Dorothy!" Glinda finally had had it. "Please for the love of Oz stop talking!" scolded the blonde harshly as she rubbed her temples with her hands though it was too late because a migraine had already formed.

"Sorry," said the girl with her head down, pigtails showing.

The dog began to yap at what seemed like the wind and Glinda groaned.

"Why have we stopped, Miss Glinda?" asked Dorothy as she picked at some flowers by the road and glanced at her new blood red jeweled shoes.

"Because we are taking my bubble to see the Wizard and I need to concentrate in order to recite the spell," Glinda said through her teeth as her jaw set into an annoyed frown.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said the girl as she went back to picking her flowers. Then she turned around again and said, "Wait, but Auntie Em and Uncle Henry told me to never go with strangers."

"I am not a stranger, Dorothy… you can trust me," said Glinda in a fake reassuring voice. She had been hoping not to use the spell to force Dorothy to go unconscious but now she would take the girl being silent any day than listening to her blabber nonsense.

"How do I know you're a good witch and not a bad witch?" asked Dorothy as she gathered up Toto in her arms and looked sternly at the blonde woman.

"Bad witches are ugly," the retort came out of her mouth before she even realized she said it, "And do I look ugly to you?"

The girl shook her head, "No, I guess you can't be a bad witch then, can you? So what does this other Wicked Witch look like?"

Glinda paused in her thinking and felt her heart, her glass heart that was slowly ticking away the minutes left in her life, become heavy.

"She's green," said the blonde softly.

"Like jealousy? Auntie Em did say that people can become-"

"No, not that child! I mean her skin is green, as green as the grass right there," snapped Glinda quickly. She didn't want to talk about Elphaba anymore. It hurt too much to talk about her.

A moment of silence passed between Glinda and Dorothy.

"They told me that she hurt these poor innocent monkeys," Dorothy started quietly, "and that she killed her mother and even her friends. They told me that she turned one of her friends into a tin man. They also said that she casted a spell on her own sister that made her crippled in order to get back at her father for hating her and hurting her. They also told me that she's an evil old hag that will stop at nothing and kill me for killing her sister."

"Elphie would do no such thing!"

Glinda covered her mouth with her hands after her own remark and found herself startled with her actions. What was she doing, defending Elphaba like that?

"I mean, I'm sure she would so we must get you to safety as quick as we can," Glinda lied smoothly but she could tell the girl did not buy it.

"They said I might be the one that might actually have enough power to kill her," said the girl with a sob, "I don't want to kill anyone!"

The blonde suddenly took pity on the girl. She was frightened, alone, and terribly confused in a land that was obviously not her own. And she had a point; she didn't look like the type who killed.

But then again, when did she? Ginda didn't look like one to kill either and yet here she was trying to get Elphaba killed.

Her own comment about Elphaba had made the blonde rethink her actions. She realized that she couldn't kill Elphaba. She loved her too much. At the slightest thought or mention of her name brought butterflies and warm feelings into her stomach. She had been denying it for too long for it to continue any longer. She had to end this. Once and for all.

Elphaba was not wicked and Glinda would make sure that the people of Oz knew that.

Glinda slid the girl a glance and took her by the hand leading her into her pink bubble and Toto too, "Let's go see the Wizard and set things right."


	35. No Way Out

Chapter Thirty-Five:

She hadn't realized it until they got back to the circus that her heart was hurting a lot more than it used to. Glinda's body was suddenly feeling heavy… and not right. Something, the spell most likely, was causing her insides to suddenly have sharp edges and cut into her skin from the interior and she was starting to feel its effects. She winced as a sharp jab to her side erupted a feeling of intense pain and her breath suddenly became short.

"Miss Glinda, are you alright?" Dorothy had noticed the blonde's look of pain when she had abruptly stopped in the middle of walking.

"Fine," she got out in one breath. She continued walking despite pain, anxious to speak with Morrible and The Wizard herself.

"This doesn't look like an Emerald City," said the girl as they passed through the numerous train carts and tents. Glinda groaned, the child had been full of nonstop questions ever since they had departed in the bubble and had stopped where the circus was, "Why it looks like a circus!"

"We're taking a little detour," muttered Glinda as she walked along the grass to find Morrible's tent. She led the girl and that irritating dog inside.

"Dorothy Gale," Morrible sounded pleased. "You are very welcome to our humbled land of Oz." She clasped the child's hand and smiled at her graciously.

"Who-who are you?" asked Dorothy suddenly looking frightened.

"I am Madame Morrible, The Wizard's Press Secretary. I will be the one escorting you to the Wizard himself," said Morrible as she smoothed out her deep purple dress, trying to look professional.

"Oh that's alright," the girl gave Madame a cheery smile, "I'm perfectly fine with Glinda taking me. That bubble ride sure is something!"

"That will not be necessary," Morrible's fake smile drooped, "Glinda is not needed for this and she can wait outside," the headmistress flashed the blonde a warning look.

"But Madame I need to-" spoke up Glinda.

"Not now dearie!" snapped the old woman in a strained tone. She motioned for Glinda to go outside and the blonde did so, reluctantly.

Once outside, she drowned out all of the excess noise she heard all around her and she closed her eyes. She could feel herself starting to cry. But what was she crying over? Glinda herself didn't even know.

Maybe it was regret… remorse for doing this to Elphaba. She had just brought in Elphaba's killer at the same time that she had just admitted to herself that she couldn't do this.

She needed to get out. Chuffrey had been right all along. These people were monsters and she was becoming one of them just by being here.

Glinda didn't want to be a monster. This place was haunting her, making her re-think her whole life. She didn't want to spend it causing pain to anyone. She herself had already suffered enough pain to last a lifetime.

She didn't want to end up like Madame Morrible or Yackle. Old, bent on revenge, bent on being powerful.

That was not the life she wanted to live. She didn't want to live a lie either.

Glinda caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror that had been thrown out of one of the tents. It was shattered, pieces in various places on the dirt but she could still see her reflection.

She picked up a piece, careful not to cut her hand with its jagged edges and looked at herself. She could feel a sense of guilt, of shame well up inside of her. Her lips trembled.

She was not this princess. She was not even close to being a princess. She didn't deserve these clothes and this fake recognition. Those people, those Munchkins had thought of her as a savior, a hero.

But it was all a lie.

She was just a vengeful woman on the path of destruction pretending to be someone she was not just to gain people's trust.

Her mother would have been proud of her but everyone else would not have been.

She sniffled as she set down the piece of glass on the ground. She ran a forefinger over it, memorizing the feel of it. Soon her skin would feel like that. It was only a matter of time before her entire body became a walking window or mirror.

Glinda knew she deserved it though. After everything she had done, she deserved to be punished.

It was then that she lost it. She completely unraveled and sank to her knees, crying furiously with hatred towards herself. She never, in a million years, thought that she would end up in this position. Here she was, ready to have all of her dreams come true and yet she didn't want any of it.

Tears fell down on her cheeks and hit the glass of the mirror, making a tinkling sound. Her shoulders heaved and sobbed, as did her whole body.

An ache began to form inside of her and it wasn't from the sadness. It was because her interior was finally complete. Glinda could feel it. Every bone, every vein, every muscle was now glass. It changed the way her body moved. She was now more cautious, more structured. She ran hand down her own face and she could feel the bones and muscles were now smooth and cold beneath her hot flesh.

She savored the feeling of her skin, knowing that it was only a few days before it would be gone forever.

She felt like screaming but she knew it was no use. Nothing could stop this spell. She stood up shakily, trying to figure out how to move with her new body. It wasn't easy. Her lungs felt heavy and it never seemed like she was getting enough air. Her heart beat and sent streams of blood down long glass tubes that used to be her veins and arteries. Her arms and legs moved at awkward angles.

If anything broke, Glinda didn't know if she would be able to fix it.

She walked slowly back into the tent, needing to talk with Morrible right away. When she came in, Glinda noticed the girl and her yapping dog were gone.

"Where's Dorothy and that dog Dodo or Toto whatever?" she asked the elder woman.

"On her way to the Emerald City to receive instructions from the Wizard himself," said Morrible sounding bored with her questions, "Now if we have nothing else to talk about-"

"I need to speak with you," said Glinda confidently as she stood her ground. Morrible had always scared her but this time the blonde was determined not to be frightened.

"About what?" She shuffled some papers in her grasp at her desk, not looking at the woman.

"This needs to stop now. I can't go through with this. I am ordering you not to kill Elphaba," commanded the blonde with a stern look.

That piqued Morrible's attention. The papers stopped moving and before Glinda knew it Morrible was inches away from her face.

"Now you listen here Missy and you listen good. There is no backing out of this bargain, do you understand? Elphaba Thropp will die with or without your help," hissed the former headmistress threateningly.

"You will not kill her," said Glinda just as sternly, "Not on my watch."

A smile curved its way on to Morrible's lipstick-adorned lips, "Who said we wouldn't kill you first before we kill her?"

That statement sent a cold spell over Glinda's body. The thought of that happening toyed with her mind.

"You-you wouldn't…" sputtered the blonde in a weak attempt to talk the woman out of it. Her hands began to shake in fear.

"Couldn't you see that you were our pawn? That we already had this planned out in the first place and we just waited for you to come along and we let you think that you were orchestrating this entire thing." Morrible cackled, "Then again, you never could see the truth even if it was right in front of you."

"Did you really think that we would let you win? That we would just let you get away with knowing Elphaba… oh my dear. How foolish of you," Morrible patted her trembling hand, "You and Fiyero know too much to be able to just walk away from this."

Madame Morrible, satisfied with her work, walked right past Glinda and left the tent.

She was wrong. Glinda was going to prove her wrong. She would not let them win.

Not this time.

She returned to her cart with a newfound determination to beat Morrible and The Wizard at their own game. Her head was spinning with all of these plans and efforts to try and escape. But her energy was quickly squashed once she saw who else was in the cart with her. Tied up, bound and gagged against the wall was her prince, her fiancé.

"F-Fiyero?"


	36. My One Regret

Chapter Thirty-Six:

Elphaba couldn't believe that it had happened. One minute she had been scouring through the Grimmerie, trying to find a spell that would take her to see her sister and the next minute she heard the sound of flying monkeys. Before she knew it Fiyero was gone.

It had all been her fault. If she hadn't been so focused about Nessa then she would have surely seen them coming, she would have surely been able to stop them.

She had been distracted by her vision of Nessa, too caught up to realize that it was a decoy to get her distanced from Fiyero. It had only been an hour. She had only been locked in her room with that book for a mere hour.

They had taken him away though in that time frame, taken him to the circus as a merciless taunt for her to come crawling back to them.

Those monkeys worked for The Wizard and Morrible and everyone else at that circus she knew that very well. She had been the one to accidentally, unintentionally turn them into what they are. She hadn't meant to.

It was her first meeting with The Wizard since she had been kidnapped. Mr. Boss and Yackle had apparently told him and Morrible of her powers after she nearly ripped them all to shreds with her magick. He wanted to see what she could do.

It was the first time anyone was ever curious, interested in her. She had been too eager to please. She had still been a child, eleven or twelve at best.

He asked her to perform a spell for him from his spell book. And so she did.

And it all went downhill from there.

After finding out the truth, she took the Grimmerie for herself only to have it stolen from her years later and vowed never to help him ever again.

That's when they decided to turn her into their enemy. But they decided to torture her first, that's why they kept her in the circus. They already wanted her run down by the time her ending was to arrive.

Elphaba knew that this was different from what The Time Dragon Clock had said her life was going to be like… but for some reason she still believed that her ending was not going to be a happy one.

Ever since she was born, people had looked down upon her and her life. No one cared, no one listened. Except for Glinda and Fiyero.

And now with both of them missing, Elphaba didn't know how much longer she could take this life of running and fighting.

He winced as she pressed a cloth to his wounds.

"Sorry," mumbled the blonde as she continued, avoiding his eyes, "They hurt you pretty bad," she remarked as she lifted up the cloth and saw the claw marks on his arms and shoulders.

"Yeah, they have a good grip," said Fiyero who was still wincing in pain. They continued like this in silence for a while. His bonds and gags were left on the floor. Glinda had him sitting on the table while she tended to him.

"What exactly happened?" she asked, curious her skirts rustling as she reached for a clean cloth.

Fiyero gave her a look, "What exactly happened to you?" he retorted.

Glinda blinked at him and then looked down at her new dress. The blue glittering ball gown with the tiara and sparkles to match.

"I asked you first," she said lightly with a faint smile. She brushed a lock of hair back from her face and glanced at him.

"I thought you would be mad at me," she said quietly when he didn't answer her question, "for running off like that and everything."

"I'm not mad," he said with a sigh, "Just frustrated. Where the hell am I anyways?"

Glinda swallowed and finished wrapping up his wounds before she answered him.

"You're at the Ozling Brothers Circus," she said simply. She didn't look at him though and even still she felt his gaze upon her.

"I'm what? Are you saying that they've kidnapped you and I? That's it," Fiyero hopped down from the table determinedly though his injuries stopped him from moving so fast. "We're getting out of here."

He reached for the door when Glinda, her skirts crinkling with each step, put her hand on his shoulder, "We can't."

The train was at a standstill but Glinda knew that they had the monkeys walking around as guards to make sure no one escaped.

"What do you mean we can't?" Fiyero bellowed becoming extremely furious very quickly. He turned to face her, his face red with anger.

"It's my fault, Fiyero," said the blonde honestly, "You're not here by accident. I-I," her eyes went downcast and filled with guilty tears, "I asked them to bring you here."

"Why in Oz would you do that?" spat out her prince after a moment. He was angry, very, very angry with her.

"I was being selfish, I wanted you away from Elphaba and I wanted you all to myself," the truth was spilling out easier than Glinda imagined it would have. The guilt that had torn apart her soul was slowly lifting and making her feel better.

"And you really thought that that would fix things?" laughed Fiyero bitterly as he moved just a step away from her. He shook his head at her in disbelief.

"Let me explain, Fiyero!" she said a bit defensively.

"You really surprise me sometimes Glinda," Fiyero said with bitterness and hatred suddenly prominent in his voice, "Just when I think you turn things around, you go back to being yourself."

"Fiyero…" His words hurt her. They cracked at her glass heart and made her bones ache with pain and sadness.

"Don't," he hissed at her as he walked away from her and put both hands on the table, his head bent low.

"I need your help," begged the blonde as she tried to get him to look at her, "Morrible and The Wizard are planning something terrible. When I came here, I wanted them to kill Elphaba and I thought that's what they were going to do… but Fiyero I think I was wrong. No, I know I'm wrong," her face grew pale as she remembered what Morrible said to her, "They're going to kill us."

"You're insane," muttered Fiyero, "You really expect me to believe that?" He looked up at her with disgust written all over his face.

"I know it's true," she said solemnly. Her eyes were serious and for once they sent fear down Fiyero's spine.

Even in that ridiculous outfit, Fiyero couldn't deny that her eyes and her expression were not joking.

"You did this, all of this, just because you want me?" he asked her quietly. The room was deathly silent besides the two of them, causing a rift in conversation.

"Yes," said Glinda surely as her stomach churned with nerves.

"What about Elphaba?"

Those blue eyes of hers flickered away from his for a moment.

"I'm realizing now that I want her too," admitted Glinda with a small smile.

He looked at her, staring intently. Those damn sequins and sparkles though were giving him a headache.

"You should get changed, that outfit is causing me to have a migraine," he muttered, changing the topic quickly.

She nodded submissively and did as she was told. She was in no mood to argue. Changing back into her pink costume, she folded up the ball gown as best she could and placed it on a clean spot on the otherwise dirty floor. Who knows if she would need it again?

"How are your shoulders feeling?" she asked hesitantly as she squeezed next to Fiyero who was already lying on the mattress, his back facing her. She knew that she was walking on eggshells by even trying to speak with him.

She made an attempt to try and massage them for him but she was rudely rebutted when he rolled over and scooted just far enough away from her that she couldn't reach.

She let her hands drop. She could feel her heart pumping faster than normal and she could feel the breaks and cracks that were forming. Her eyes watered. The muscles in her throat were suddenly tight and wouldn't budge.

"I love you," she said quietly, her voice wavering and quivering like the ever-changing waves of the sea.

Her words were met with silence for the longest time.

"I used to love you," said Fiyero after a while, "But now… I don't think I ever can."

Her breath contracted her chest and Glinda felt like she was going to burst into tears.

"Elphie would love me," she said timidly like a small child might when trying to prove their parents wrong.

"Not if she knew that you were the one who's trying to kill her," retorted Fiyero angrily. He suddenly faced her.

"Don't think that she wouldn't act the same way as I am! I can't believe you'd sink this low, Glinda."

"I'm sorry," sputtered out the blonde as she put one trembling hand on his face, "I didn't mean for it to go this far! I thought-"

She was about to cry.

Fiyero looked at her with no pity.

"Don't cry. Just don't." he said sternly.

He turned back over and ignored her for the rest of the night.

Glinda spent the evening crying herself to sleep in silence.


	37. Giving Up

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

When Glinda woke up the next morning she found Fiyero to be gone. Fear instantly gripped at her heart. What if he escaped late last night when she had managed to fall asleep? What if they had taken him away to kill him first?

All these horrible thoughts swam around her head until the blonde felt she was going to be sick with worry.

Glinda leaned against the door of the cart and nervously watched her surroundings to see anything unusual.

Nothing. It was the early morning, the birds were singing, the sun was rising and everyone was just starting to wake up.

Frustrated, she retreated back into her compartment after about an hour of watching. With Fiyero being gone, Glinda had some time for herself. Even though she knew that she should have been looking for him, the blonde couldn't help but figure he wouldn't do the same for her if she were missing. And so she took her time. She aimlessly wandered around camp looking at everything, the tents, the caged animals and Animals until she got tired.

She stopped to rest just at the edge of where the circus camp and train stopped and the real world began. It was like she was detached from life itself here, with no way out. The guards that did perimeters passed by her, giving her a sharp knowing look as if to tell her that they would catch her if she even attempted to run away. Glinda didn't care at this point. She knew she never would be free again; she was in too deep. It was very much likely that Morrible and The Wizard would have her and Fiyero killed after capturing Elphaba. Besides that fact, Glinda didn't want to live life as the monster she had become. She could feel it in her that everything was different. It wasn't just her glass interior and exterior anymore. The change was rooted deep within her causing her emotions, her mindset, even her way of acting. Though her former self kept trying to crawl back, the vain silly thing from Pertha Hills, the new Glinda dominated over her. It was like she was turning into the one thing she had feared; a complete monster like her mother.

She hadn't started out this way. She had a good childhood compared to what others had gone through. She was treated like a princess in her town, mostly because her parents had more money than the Wizard himself. She was fawned over by boys of all ages, admired by all the girls. And yet inside, behind those closed doors and the shut windows of her house, Glinda was not viewed as the perfect being everyone else thought she was. Her father viewed her in that way to an extent but that didn't matter anymore when he died years later just around the time she went to Shiz. Her mother though was the real monster. Obsessed with having her only child and daughter be perfect even though all Glinda (or Galinda then) wanted to do was to live her life like the rest of her friends. Daily etiquette lessons, the skin deep lines on her skin from her corsets, the daily endless hours spent on her hair and her appearance, and the pressures at every corner from her mother and everyone else to be perfect were not part of Glinda's plan and yet she was stuck living through it.

It had turned her into this selfish, ugly human being. She now chose not to be nice; she chose to be cruel and ambitious.

The glass had something to do with it too. Who would want to argue with a woman who was made of glass, who could shatter in a split second?

Sighing the blonde carefully leaned against a tree trunk and closed her eyes for a minute. All of this inner reflection was doing a taxing job on her head, causing a deep headache to start to irritate her senses.

When she opened her eyes, she was more than surprised at the sight she saw. It was not Fiyero like she had been expecting to see.

It was Elphaba.

"Elphie?" she exclaimed in a hushed tone as soon as her brain took notice of what her eyes were seeing.

Elphaba had either been sneaking into the camp or out of it judging by the way she had twisted herself around one tree, checking both sides for guards or any sign of anyone else. Her head snapped to Glinda's, her eyes momentarily unfocused as she adjusted to the sound of her nickname being called out into the open like that.

"Glinda?" the green woman raised herself to full height, pulling away from the tree. Broom in hand, witch hat on head, and the witch costume Glinda had worn once for a party on her body Elphaba looked terrifyingly beautiful. There was certain darkness to her that underlined the sensuality the dress gave her. She still had her edges; that would probably never change, her green skin glowed in the sunlight, and her eyes could still switch from looking soft and compassionate to ruthless and cruel within seconds. Her voice wasn't the same either; it was harder, coarse, a bit jaded and snippy… at least that's what Glinda observed from just hearing a few syllables out of her mouth.

She was sure that Elphaba was judging her too. The whole glass skin thing was slightly unnerving and Glinda bet it was even more unnerving if someone was looking at it in its entirety like Elphaba was.

"Did they do this to you?" Elphaba managed to ask. Her eyes flickered all around Glinda's body, concern showing in her irises.

"They told me you did, with the spell you casted on me when I was dying," Glinda said slowly trying to figure out if Elphaba's lack of knowledge was true or not.

Elphaba shook her head, "No, Glinda I swear I didn't do this to you. It wasn't supposed to spread like this… they must have done something to you. Another spell or something. Maybe, maybe I can reverse it before it's too late or-"

"Don't bother," cut in Glinda shrilly, "It's already too late. I'm a walking mirror with flesh colored paint for skin, red slivers for lips, golden streaks for hair, and blue orbs of ice for eyes. You can't help me now, no one can."

Elphaba for a moment looked hurt and defeated. She reached out a hand and placed it onto of Glinda's only to pull away when the weight of her hand caused Glinda's to splinter off into cracked pieces.

"Glin… I'm so sorry," she uttered as her head bowed down in shame and guilt.

"You should be, this is all your fault," hissed the blonde. Inwardly some part of her brain was ashamed of how she was acting. It was totally out of character to be this… this bitchy and cold but this was the new Glinda and she did forgive nor forget as easily.

"I know, I know it is. I just wish there was something I could do to save you-" a branch snapping broke Elphaba's sentence. She stopped suddenly and turned around, searching the trees for any sign of movement. It was the fugitive instinct in her.

"Listen," she said softly when she assessed that there was no danger, "I'm going to come back for you and Fiyero in a few days time. I'm going to rescue you and make things right again."

Glinda avoided her gaze with her own mouth set in a pout.

"Good luck with that," she snorted as her arms crossed themselves in front of her chest. She felt her skin cracking at the action and she immediately uncrossed her arms. Glinda studied the lines now along her arms like they were permanent scars. Elphaba looked at them too, though she was more horrified than Glinda was.

"They'll pay for this, I swear to you Glinda. They will pay for what they've done to you," hissed Elphaba. She couldn't take her eyes off the jagged indents that formed lines on Glinda's skin.

"Don't be too hasty. They seem to be hell-bent on making you pay before they pay for their wrongdoings," remarked Glinda as she huffed and pulled her arms back close to her sides.

"What do they want with me?" asked Elphaba even though this didn't seem like news to her, "Be specific."

Glinda rolled her eyes. It was pointless really to tell Elphaba this. There was no changing it now. Whatever was going to happen would happen no matter what.

"They want you to be their enemy, a wicked witch that everyone will fear just so they can have all of the power. They've made the girl from Kansas, Dorothy your assassin. She's coming for you, Elphie." Even when disclosing this information Glinda felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and pain. Her former self was suffocating the new Glinda. There was too much to forget, too much history, too much pain and loss for Glinda to take the chilly and bitchy approach to Elphaba's demise. She was too attached, even if she didn't want to be anymore.

"They're sending a child," Elphaba sounded disgusted, "How pathetic."

"I think they've told her though… about your allergy, Elphie, what if she melts you?" The constant switching of affection and hatred she felt for Elphaba was growing irritating. She didn't understand why her heart was still conflicted when it came to Elphaba.

"It won't come to that, not if I have anything to do with it," said Elphaba sharply as if she was irritated with the idea that a child could kill her. "I'll kill her first if I have to."

"Either way you'll be giving them what they want," pointed out Glinda sadly as she kept her gaze on Elphaba's face.

"We could all disappear. You, Fiyero, and me. We could do it Glinda." But there was false hope in her voice.

"Oh please, disappearing in Oz is about as easy as trying to get out of an awkward conversation. We'll get caught no matter what," snapped the blonde.

"Well I don't know what else you want me to do!" shouted Elphaba in a loud voice as she threw up her hands.

"I want you to just stop fighting, can't you see it's useless?" shrieked Glinda in frustration, "Just give up already, Elphie! Accept your fate… I've already accepted mine."

Elphaba shot her a stern glare, "You know I can't do that, Glinda. I'm not you, I don't give up when I don't get my way."

"Then they've already won," whispered Glinda dejectedly. No matter how hard she tried she could not summon any optimism for this situation. Elphaba was right; she had given up just because she hadn't gotten her way. Glinda hadn't gotten her way since Elphaba came into the picture.

"I wish I could change your mind, make you see my way," Elphaba brought a hand to Glinda's cheek and looked sentimentally at the blonde.

Meanwhile Glinda was fighting all urges to slap that hand away and either kiss or scream at Elphaba. Her affections toward the green woman had not changed no matter what she was told to believe about her. She was still just as attracted to her as she had been in the first place. But right now she was beyond angry and a bit irritated with Elphaba's everlasting hope that everything would be all right.

She sighed heavily and locked eyes with Elphaba.

"Your way is a fool's way to think about these things. I wish you would just stop fighting."

"Not yet," said Elphaba softly, "Not now. I'm too determined to save you."

Glinda tilted her head sadly and wore a small sad pout, "I don't want you to end up hurt and bitter in the end… if you keep thinking that you're going to save both of us then Elphie you're going to be so hurt when you lose us." She sniffled just a bit, "You know these people, Elphaba, and you know what they can do. You've seen it. Please tell me that at least you know there's a chance that you might never see me or Fiyero again," begged the blonde.

"Glinda," Elphaba let out a long breath and her eyes were locked on Glinda's, "I can't afford to think like that. I'll lose my mind if I did. I have to keep thinking that you're both going to be alright."

"Then I'm sorry, Elphie," got out Glinda in a teary whisper.

Elphaba nodded as if she already knew what Glinda was apologizing about.

"I love you both," Elphaba said softly as she gently kissed the blonde's cheek, "I'll be back soon for you I promise."

Glinda could only nod as she watched Elphaba leave.

With only the sounds of her footsteps left Glinda stood and waited until Elphaba was clear out of sight before letting a few tears slip down her cheeks.


	38. Deciding More Than One Fate

Chapter Thirty-Eight:

Glinda didn't know what else to do than to go to Madame Morrible. She knew it was wrong of her to do so but she had tried to reason with Elphie by herself and it had failed. No matter what she felt, her allegiance, Morrible and The Wizard owned her life. If she turned her back on them now the consequences would be too threatening and too dangerous.

Glinda no longer made decisions for or by herself. She was a mere puppet, her strings being pulled by everyone but herself.

In their eyes and in her own she had no thoughts, no opinions, no nothing. She was merely a body in servitude, not a human being who got herself in way over her head in matters she shouldn't had even thought of.

"She won't surrender, I tried to reason with her," said the blonde as soon as she entered the tent and saw Madame Morrible sitting at her desk.

"I thought I told you to let it be," said Morrible with a heavy sigh as she put down her pen and looked up at the blonde.

"She wouldn't listen to me, you never told me what would happen if she didn't listen," Glinda said.

When she had signed up for this it had been an unspoken rule that Glinda was supposed to try and get Elphaba to surrender without the use of any violence. Now that she had tried and failed, Glinda didn't know what the next step was.

"Then we move on to our other plans," there was an underlying tone in Morrible's voice when she said that, that made Glinda's skin cringe.

"What other plans?" ventured the blonde as she took one step forward and brushed back a piece of her 'hair' from her face, the tinkling sound of glass in the air.

"You and Fiyero. It will all be harmless really, it will just look like you've died but really you won't be."

"Died?" sputtered out Glinda, "What do you mean it will just look like we've died?"

"Oh just a little bit of smoke and mirrors, a little bit of acting, and some magic on my part and we'll have Miss Elphaba right where we want her," Morrible looked too giddy for a sort of thing like this.

"Then what will you do with Fiyero and I once you have her?" asked Glinda. She stared straight into Morrible's eyes, which was a slightly unnerving thing to do.

"You would be crowned Glinda the Good savior of Oz, just like you wanted. Fiyero could become the Captain of the Guard if he would be so inclined and then you two can marry and live happily ever after." The older woman was mocking her, with a disgusting sugary sweet sort of tone. There was something about her proposition though that Glinda didn't quite believe. Would they really let her and Fiyero live after this?

"The last part is up to you and what you do with your life but the offer of Glinda the Good and Captain of the Guard does still stand," corrected the older woman with an amused smirk.

"What exactly does this new plan entail?" Glinda asked.

The gleam in Morrible's smile gave the blonde woman the creeps but she didn't back out of the deal.

"Interesting," Madame Morrible hissed, "You automatically think that Fiyero will be keen on the idea as well. Well I hate to burst your bubble dearie but… things between you and Fiyero aren't exactly solid and trustworthy especially since with what happened this morning while you were still sleeping…"

Glinda felt her face pale, "What do you mean?" she no longer cared about the plan. It faded away from her mind like a bad memory.

"You mean you don't know?" the corners of Morrible's lips curled up into a smirk, "Honestly darling it's not that hard. Why do you think Elphaba was here in the first place? I mean did you really think she came here to look for you? You've been gone for weeks… she wasn't here for you."

The blonde knew what accusation she was getting at, and she didn't believe a word of it.

"No, no you're wrong," defended Glinda.

"Oh I know all about your heart still being fickle when it comes to her so let me make the choice for you." Morrible conjured up a vision in her crystal ball.

Glinda watched, determined to prove her wrong. But with each passing second her determination vanished. The image wasn't hard to figure out or complicated to interpret. It was easy and simple. Glinda guessed that's why it hurt so much.

It was Elphaba fiercely kissing Fiyero in this circus, somewhere maybe where she had been at one point. This was nothing new to Glinda. In fact she had seen it more than once. It was just that this time, she could see that Fiyero had just as much passion in him as Elphaba did. They really loved each other.

There was no room in either of their hearts for her anymore. She had been discarded, abandoned by the ones she cared about most, like an old toy that had been thrown out after it passed its usage. They didn't care about her anymore. They didn't love her anymore.

Everything was pain next, pain and suffering. Glinda didn't care anymore about Morrible's plan was, she didn't care about Elphaba's plan.

She wanted out and she wanted out now.

Out of everything, out this damned circus, out of this personal hell where reminders of Elphaba and Fiyero were around every corner, Glinda wanted out of her life… to be dead and in an everlasting sleep.

She knew what would do it. One wrong move and she would shatter into oblivion. It was just so easy.

"Don't be too quick to act there dearie, don't you want Elphaba to see?"

It was as if Morrible was reading her mind.

"She's coming back soon, I don't know if I can wait that long," said Glinda defeated.

"I believe you can," said Madame Morrible with a tight smile, like everything was going exactly as she wanted it to go.

As she stared into Morrible's face she wondered for a moment if this had been the Madame's plan all along. Was this what they did to its inhabitants? Drive them slowly into madness until they don't want to live anymore? Was this what they did to Elphie?

No, Glinda didn't care anymore. Her heart and soul were broken in more ways than she could ever describe.

Now all she had to do was really break her heart.


	39. Let It Go

Chapter Thirty-Nine:

Fiyero was quite frazzled by Glinda's appearance when she came back to the cart later that day. She seemed to be despondent, no light shining in her eyes, nothing to talk about. He was starting to get worried. Had Morrible and Mr. Boss done something to her?

"Glin…" Fiyero chose his words carefully, knowing that he and the blonde were not exactly on good terms right now, "Is something wrong?"

She glanced at him, the words from Madame Morrible's lips still swirling around in her head, and looked away.

"Nothing's wrong," said the blonde lifelessly. She closed the door behind her and relaxed her body against it while Fiyero stood across from her. She avoided his gaze; which was the first clue to him that something was wrong. She ran a glass hand through that hair nervously. He could see it though, in her face, that there was something she was hiding. It was evident in the way she bit her lip, the way she positioned herself. He saw right through her lies.

"What did you do?" he asked slowly and sternly. He knew that look that was on her face. He knew that that looked meant deception, hidden motives, hidden agendas. That look was trouble.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she dismissed quickly. In a few short days, maybe even less than 24 hours, this all would be over. She and Fiyero would be dead and The Wizard and Madame Morrible would finally have what they wanted: Elphaba. Somewhere deep down Glinda knew that this was wrong but her jealousy overpowered that. It was amazing what a broken heart and soul could ignore and get done. She and Fiyero only have a short time left, and she wasn't about to tell him of her plans.

Let him figure it out on his own, he deserved it anyways. The life she had known was gone and over with. Her new life was about to end.

Everything was coming to a close.

She should have felt bad about this, about leaving Elphaba and killing herself and everyone the girl had loved but she had no other choice. Either way Glinda would be killed for not holding up her end of the bargain and that was something Glinda could not do. She was a coward through and through. And this time, rather than choosing the limelight the blonde was choosing death.

No regrets, no worries, no hesitations could follow her. She had to have a heart of glass, a heart of ice. No emotion or feeling could get in her way. She had to let it all go.

"Is this about Elphaba?"

Glinda couldn't help but cringe. She tried not to but the action overruled her self-discipline. She was going to have to get over Elphaba and Fiyero fast if she was going to have any chance of going through with her plan, or Morrible's plan.

"What do you care?" she snapped back at him as she closed her eyes trying to get a moment's peace.

"I care because I love her!" Fiyero had finally said it out loud and it felt good. He saw the flash of pain across Glinda's face and it momentarily hurt him to see her like that. But like Glinda he was trying to cut his ties with his past life. Glinda didn't matter now, at least not this Glinda.

When he had seen Elphaba this morning they both had decided to leave the circus tonight, but without Glinda. Elphaba had been convinced that she could stop this change the blonde was going through, with the mentality that if Glinda wasn't glass anymore she would return to her former self, but Elphaba needed time. They couldn't risk taking her with them, not since Morrible and The Wizard were so closely watching her. They would come back for her when they could assure her safety. Elphaba had planned to meet him by the main tent tonight and Fiyero needed to know if Morrible and The Wizard were planning any interruptions.

"Glin… please," he begged. He needed to know. He attempted to reach out towards her, his fingertips grazed her forearm and then they tightened around the glass just to get her attention, to show her just how desperate he was, "Please tell me if they're planning something. Can't you see that we need you? That we want to help you? We want you to be free but we can't do that unless you help yourself and us. So please, Glinda tell me what they're planning."

He didn't get an answer from her lips. He got one from her forearm; which nearly split down the middle at his touch. The cracking sound was enough to make him jump and then he saw what he had done. Horrified he pulled away immediately and Glinda stared at her forearm in shock. A pale colored face stared back at her in the glass of her arm, the face split down the middle. Oh the irony of that image in her mind. It perfectly described how she was at the moment.

Torn.

She began to laugh, which was slightly frightening to Fiyero, a dark, crazy laugh that was only reserved for wicked witches and villains.

She looked back up at him, expecting him to laugh with her as well. All she got was a terrified face staring at her like she was walking around with her head cut off.

"Don't pretend like you care about me anymore," she spat at him, her heart slightly breaking as she tried to rid herself of her feelings for Fiyero and Elphaba, "Just go to her. You don't need me. True loves conquers all, right? True love always gets a happy ending… if you really believed that then why would you be doubting that you or Elphaba are in any danger."

He hung his head low. A smirk curled Glinda's lips upwards in bitter regret towards this life.

They didn't say anything further to each other until night fell and Fiyero was about to leave. With his fate still unbeknownst to him, he gathered his stuff up and was about to open the door when he paused. He looked back at Glinda who had settled herself in the corner, eyes blank, face unmoving or unchanging.

"I'm sorry it came to this… we'll come back for you, I promise."

She didn't say anything. She didn't even look at him. She just stuck her nose up a bit higher in the air and huffed.

By the time she decided to look at where he had been, he was already gone.

An ache began to grow in her chest but she ignored it. She had an escape to report before it was too late.

Her words were quick and brief to Madame Morrible and The Wizard who only had instructions to give her in return for her information.

Stand guard by the main tent and go in when we tell you to.

She already knew what she was to do. She knew what was going to happen to herself.

In truth she didn't know what was going to happen to Fiyero or Elphaba, she could only guess. Glinda was planning to go first, a quick jab to her heart with her hand, crush the damn thing and then die a quick death. She didn't want to see the aftermath of what she had caused. Glinda couldn't imagine what would happen if the citizens of Oz found out about her misdeeds, they'd call her the monster instead of Elphaba.

It was true she had ruined everything in order to attempt to get her life back together. Her life, her marriage, her friendships, her humanity, they were all tarnished.

But Glinda really should have known, villains don't get happy endings and she had been one from the very beginning.


	40. The Breaking Point

Chapter Forty:

A cloak and the darkness of the night concealed her true identity as the young woman stood in the middle of the tent. It had been maddening trying to get in here and she hoped with all her might that this plan would go smoothly. She couldn't bear to think of the consequences of what would happen if they got caught.

"Fiyero?" she whispered his name into the darkness. She was getting worried.

A rustling of tent flaps and the woman stood on guard, broom pointed, magic ready.

"Elphaba?" a person emerged from the shadows. His goofy grin gave him away.

Relief struck Elphaba once she saw whom it was.

"Fiyero!" she cried running into his arms. She held onto him tightly as he showered her hair and face with kisses.

In that moment they both were blissfully happy. They had a shot at a happy ending.

And then it all went downhill from there.

A puff of smoke suddenly appeared in the arena and Elphaba and Fiyero saw that they were not alone anymore.

Morrible, The Wizard, Yackle and Mr. Boss were now all standing in the tent with them, each with a murderous look in their eyes.

Elphaba knew this meant trouble and she reached for Fiyero's hand for comfort. She positioned herself in front of Fiyero, knowing that it was her that they wanted.

"What are you doing here?"

Morrible smiled cruelly, "Our confidant told us of your runaway plans and well, we couldn't let that happen now could we dearie?"

Elphaba felt her face blanch and Fiyero silently cursed himself for not interrogating Glinda more thoroughly before leaving her behind.

"You're going to let us go, I will not be used be you and your circus anymore," spat out Elphaba to all of them.

"Oh Elphaba, Elphaba, Elphaba, you know it can't be that easy, not for you anyways," The Wizard said with a tip of his hat and a smile.

Elphaba resisted the urge to magick them all to hell in that instant but she didn't know what sort of trap awaited for her next.

"What do you want?" she growled at them, her hand readying her magic.

"Your surrender," Morrible answered that question flat out in seconds. It was no secret she wanted Elphaba to surrender to them so that they could use her to even further make the Wizard more powerful than he actually was.

"Never," hissed Elphaba and Morrible smirked and then lifted a hand towards the flap tent.

"Have it your way then…"

A sharp noise filled the air and the couple looked at the source. It had been Glinda who had emerged from the shadows at the time of her cue. Her exterior was cracking as her heart was beginning to overflow and fill with horrible sadness and loneliness. Lines that were straight, jagged, overlapping suddenly appeared all over Glinda's body. Her skin that had once been so fleshy and smooth was now as observed by Elphaba and Fiyero, hard and cold. It cracked like porcelain tiles, piece by piece. Lines adorned her complexion tarnishing and ruining the beauty that she was famous for. She looked even monstrous and wicked than she did before.

"Elphie?" her eyes flickered, "Fiyero?" As her flesh cracked and broke off so did her soprano voice. It trembled, shook, and faded slightly as she looked at the two of them. She shakily stood up from her spot on the dirt arena, letting the skirt of the costume she was wearing fall in tumbles around her legs. She was playing this part of the victim all too well…

"Glinda…" breathed Elphaba. It didn't even register in her mind that they were using Glinda to get to her, that she was the bait, the one that would lure her into the trap first. Elphaba was just too tempted by her to resist. She hadn't wanted to leave the blonde behind in this plan; it had been the only way for them to leave safely.

The blonde's eyes flashed with compassion; which was quickly dissolved by the glint of anger that suddenly appeared.

Elphaba knew how this must look to Glinda and she felt guilt swarm her.

"Glin… this isn't what it- we came here to help you," she tried to tell the blonde the truth but Glinda sent her a look that told the green woman that she would have none of it.

"Help, ha-! You help me," she snorted and sneered at her, "You are incapable of helping people, Elphaba Thropp! You only destroy things."

"Look at me," she whimpered, her eyes turning watery and hateful, "Look at what you did to me!" she roared, "This is all because of your damn spell!"

As she spoke Glinda walked over to Elphaba with pieces and chips of her glass skin falling to the floor from her face and body leaving empty holes in their place. Elphaba was afraid if the blonde took one more step she would disintegrate into dust.

"Glinda, Glinda look at me," Elphaba stepped towards the blonde, wary of the numerous eyes and gazes that were upon her as she did so.

Green hands held unwilling pale ones in an attempt to calm the blonde down.

"I would never do anything to intentionally harm you," said Elphaba as she felt Glinda's hands crack beneath the weight of her own hands, "You can come with us, we can get you out of here too if you just listen to me…"

The blonde merely snorted and rolled her eyes, "Admit it, you never wanted me. You don't want me to come with you at all. You and Fiyero don't plan on coming back for me, do you? You never loved me…. I'm just a heartless monster aren't I, Elphie?"

For that Elphaba had no argument because once upon another time she had thought that to be the truth. She looked down at her feet in shame and guilt.

Glinda did not miss a beat. She could see how Fiyero was looking at Elphaba, how his eyes were begging her to forget about Glinda and leave while they still had the chance. She could see Elphaba's eyes and how much pain was in them and for a second the blonde nearly backed out of her own suicide. She could just run away with them, defy the Wizard and Morrible, break away from her chains here and start over.

But then Glinda looked down at herself, looked at the effects of the spell and felt that anger well up inside of her anger. She could never be loved, not anymore, not now.

Who in their right mind could love a hideous monster such as herself? She didn't deserve Elphaba's love, her good intentions; her heart. She didn't deserve anything at all.

"Well how's this for heartless!" she shrieked as one split and broken hand plunged into her chest cavity, shattering the skin where her hand hit and causing a hole to appear. She ripped out something from inside of her body and held it out for all, but more specifically Elphaba and Fiyero, to see.

It was her heart, her glass heart. It beat in her cupped hand, a shining glob of blood that was leaking in between her fingers and falling in droplets to the dirt.

"Go ahead, choose him," Glinda whispered as her heart began to crack slowly until it was about to shatter, "You two deserve each other…"

Her heart then collapsed in on itself and fell piece by piece through the sliver of space between her fingers. Not too long after her heart had turned to dust Glinda herself began to fall apart into pieces of glass. Before Elphaba or Fiyero could do or say anything, her whole being broke into shards until there was nothing left of her but a pile of colored glass.

Elphaba stared at the mess, absolutely horrified. She couldn't stop the rapid tremors that suddenly racked her body. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All she kept hearing was, "I'm just a heartless monster, aren't I, Elphie?"

She nearly collapsed to the ground when Morrible's voice dragged her out of her grief for just a moment.

"If you join us you can still save your prince. It's too bad you decided wrong beforehand… otherwise your princess might still be alive," Morrible was baiting her now, wanting to cause a fight or some battle between herself and Elphaba.

"I. Will. Never. Join. You." Elphaba hissed. Even with the mention of Fiyero Elphaba still would not budge. She couldn't budge. Not after what they had done… killed Nessarose with a flying house, killed Glinda by turning her to glass… they could even take away Fiyero too but Elphaba would defy them for the rest of her life.

"Elphaba please, just consider it," encouraged the Wizard with a small smile that only angered Elphaba more, "You can have everything you want if you join us. Fame, a chance to prove yourself… we can even bring the blonde girl back if you'd like."

"You want me to join you so you can have an enemy, an enemy that you know exactly how to defeat so that you can be the hero. Why in Oz would I want to become that?" she seethed at him.

"I'll take that as your answer then," said the Wizard grimly after a moment. He nodded to Morrible and the old woman raised a gnarled, wrinkled hand towards Fiyero.

"No!" shouted Elphaba and she tried to summon her powers but she was too emotionally distraught to focus enough to help him. Mr. Boss and Yackle ran forward and restrained her from attacking anyone.

Morrible forced Fiyero to shoot up into the sky and land back down hard in a pile of straw. She kept his body down in the pile while the straw swirled around him until Elphaba thought for sure that he had died by suffocation.

But when Elphaba looked closely she realized that the stack of straw was getting smaller and smaller until all that was left was a limp body lying on the ground covered in straw.

Morrible smiled triumphantly at her accomplishment while Elphaba had to peer at the shape on the ground.

The shape turned into a figure as it slowly arose from the ground and Elphaba gasped. It was Fiyero, his features still somewhat distinguishable beneath his new flesh. He had been turned into a scarecrow.

"Fiyero," said Elphaba in disbelief more than anything else.

He turned and looked at her, "Elphaba," he then looked down at himself. "What's going on? What's happened to me?" he yelled, looking between Elphaba and the group of evil villains.

"Looks like the infamous brainless prince is now really empty-headed," remarked Morrible with a cruel and jeering smile towards Fiyero. She looked at Mr. Boss with a knowing glance and Mr. Boss whistled.

Coming in from outside, a huge Lion (or lion) pushed back the flaps of the tent and made its way towards Fiyero.

"Brr, kill," commanded Mr. Boss with a head jerk towards the scarecrow.

"No!" screamed Elphaba but she couldn't do anything.

The lion opened its wide mouth of razor sharp teeth and pounced on Fiyero without a seconds' hesitation.

Elphaba then hurled Yackle and Mr. Boss off of her and started to run towards the lion and her lover.

But she got there too late. By the time she reached Fiyero, he was already in shambles of straw. Brr turned to her, as if to attack her but Mr. Boss made him disappear somewhere with a loud command.

She grabbed fistfuls of what was left of Fiyero, nothing more than an array of straw and hay and his clothes and face that had turned to burlap.

She cried into the prickly pieces of hay, the tears burning her face faster than she would have liked.

Every good thing or person that had made themselves known in Elphaba's life had been taken. Her mother (though she was controversial), Nessa, Glinda and lastly Fiyero.

As far as Elphaba was concerned the world wasn't full of goodness anymore. It was full of heartless ambition-driven soulless monsters.

They would pin this on her surely, call this the first massacre of the horrid reputation of whatever they decided to call her in the media. A Wicked Witch perhaps, the Witch of the Vinkus.

They would get their enemy, get their Wicked Witch all because they destroyed her to the point where all she could do was fight back.

Elphaba knew there was no getting out of this. She would become their enemy due to her greed for vengeance, for revenge on them for killing Glinda and Fiyero though she had a feeling she would fail. Most villains did.

"I told you we would get what we wanted, whether you benefited or not," Morrible said with a voice that was more than pleased.

Elphaba barely heard her; she was too wrapped up in her own grief, in her own sobbing and pain. She didn't hear them leave; walk away just like the cowards they all were. There was no attempt from her to try and stop them or kill them.

She just kept her head bowed and cried.


	41. Crushed

Chapter Forty-One:

Once the tent had been cleared, it was just Elphaba and the remains of her two lovers. She hadn't even noticed that the tent was deserted. Her entire attention was on the shattered shards of glass and the pile of hay that was in front of her. It didn't matter that her whole body was shaking in uncontrollable sobs. It didn't matter that tears after tears were falling from her eyes, burning her skin. Nothing mattered anymore in that moment except for Glinda and Fiyero. Choking back sobs in her throat Elphaba fell to her knees on the ground. Gingerly she picked up a single, shimmering piece of glass and a handful of hay. Her lips parted as they unleashed a silent scream of anguish. She clutched the two objects in her grasp and felt a flurry of pain, anger, and sadness emerge in her body. Her worst nightmare had come true. The two people that had been placed in this world to show her kindness and love were gone.

She blinked rapidly but only to keep her line of vision clear so that she could what remained of them. Her face, when the numbness of having lost Glinda and Fiyero faded away, felt like an unseen fire was scorching it. Her quivering body felt like she was going to explode. Her heart had no warmth in it left. The warmth and care she had gained from Glinda and Fiyero had died with them, as it should have.

"I'm so sorry," she uttered in nothing more or less than a despaired whisper.

She had failed, failed at her attempt to hold on to the people she held most dear. It was a reoccurring patter with Elphaba though. First her mother, Melena, her friends Crope and Tibbett, Nessa, and now Glinda and Fiyero.

She was beginning to believe what her father had repeatedly said to her in her youth.

A wretched little freak of a creature like herself could never and would never deserve to be loved and care about.

It seemed to Elphaba that in the end everyone she had ultimately tried to become close with, tried to open herself up to, would die. It was just something that she was going to have to learn to accept or she could defy it all together.

In that moment she was struck with an idea. Her hands wiped away the tears and then settled on the disarray of glass first. She worked quickly, her hands fitting the colored pieces together. Then she moved to the bundle of hay and worked on that. In the end lay the newly reconstructed versions of Glinda and Fiyero. Elphaba had done her best to match the jagged edges together of Glinda's glass skin and to make Fiyero's stuffing even but it was not the same.

They laid there, eerily still and silent before her. A newfound confidence and hope shone within Elphaba even though the circumstances were grim and the outcome was not likely. She raced to her bag and came back with The Grimmerie.

She even smiled a bit as she scoured over its pages like a madwoman.

"It's going to work," she whispered gleefully, "I can feel it."

She found the spell that had been the inspiration for this idea all along. She paused before she recited it. Deep down she knew the odds and that they were against her but the 'never give up' instinct in her told the odds to go to hell. Magic itself was dangerous but magic against counter magic was even worse. Elphaba recited it anyways even if the odds were not in her favor.

And then she waited. She waited for anything and everything. A sign. A breath. A flicker of their eyes. A smile. Something.

But they never moved.

"No," Elphaba let the word slip past her guarded lips in desperation and fury, "No, no, no, no!"

She cradled her head in her hands, unable to look at yet another failure that she herself had caused.

"You forgot something," a voice spoke up.

She whirled around furious and barked at the unseen person, "And what is that? Show yourself, you coward!"

It started as a shadow and then grew to be a figure.

"Who are you?" Elphaba asked.

"You know who I am, Elphaba," it was a male. Elphaba could tell by the voice and appearance. Old but still strong. He was right, she did know him.

"Chuffrey?" she paused, "What are you doing here? Have you come to mock the death of my friends too?"

Chuffrey didn't answer at first. His gaze as Elphaba noticed was not focused on her but on Glinda.

"So they went through with it, didn't they?"

It wasn't a question.

"Those bastards," he muttered in bitterness and regret once he took her silence as a yes.

"I thought you were on their side," said Elphaba with contempt, "Everyone else is on their side."

He blinked; he hadn't done so before in the time that he had emerged from the shadows.

"You forgot to fix her heart," he said hollowly pointing at Glinda and swallowing hard. He adjusted the buttons on his coat, "And you forgot about his brain." This time he gestured towards Fiyero.

Elphaba glanced at both Glinda and Fiyero before returning to Chuffrey.

"And why do you suddenly care?" she growled. He took a full moment to answer.

"Because unlike them, I don't want to see anymore death and suffering."

He seemed to really mean it too. His words were soft, his tone heartbroken but Elphaba still had her doubts.

"If you really meant that you would have helped me stop them," she hissed.

"She," his gaze landed tearfully on Glinda," made me realize that but it was too late to do anything."

Elphaba's eyes teared up at the mention of her friend so dearly but then the liquid soon evaporated.

"You are a liar just like the rest of them!" she seethed as she readied a fireball in her palm.

"I was," he answered her, "but I kicked the habit because of her."

She sneered and took a menacing step towards him, "A likely story."

"It's true, I swear! Glinda and I-" he never finished his sentence for his eyes once again found Glinda's shattered body and he stopped talking.

"Leave! Now!" Elphaba's bellows echoed through the silent sky. She had had enough. Enough of everyone and everything. She needed to go away somewhere, someplace and think things over.

Chuffrey stood there for a moment, gazing at the fireball on her hand and then back at the two dead bodies on the ground. His eyes lifted to meet hers in a sort of understanding.

"I was only trying to help," he lowered his head in shame and sadness.

"No one can help me," Elphaba's voice came out bitter and harsh. "Don't you see that? And if anyone tries to help then they end up dead."

"Coincidences," Chuffrey brushed it off.

Her gaze turned hard after he said that.

"No, no coincidences here," she muttered, "They all died because of me and nothing and no one else."

"Now that's not true," Chuffrey said gently. He took a brave step forward and placed a hand on her trembling shoulder.

"It is," insisted Elphaba as she tried to keep her tears at bay. "I really am as cursed as my father said I was. I really am… wicked."

A pang of pity hit Chuffrey's heart for Elphaba. Of the ten years that he had the woman he had never seen her this broken, this desperate, this hopeless. She had always been strong, will-full and determined to see herself through the worst and hardest of times no matter what.

"Don't listen to them. I've seen who you truly are, and so have they. He didn't have to say their names for her to know whom he was talking about, "They saw the real you as well."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Elphaba's rebuttal cut through the air like a knife, "It's time for me to give up. I've spent the last eighteen years thinking, hoping and wishing that I would find people that accepted me for who I was." She looked down tearfully and sniffled, "And I found them. With Glinda, acceptance took a while but suddenly we became friends and then something more. With Fiyero it was just instantly there." She paused before continuing, gathering up all the courage to get out what she had to say.

"It took twenty years to find them. I don't want to spend another twenty years trying to recreate what I felt with them with other people who accept me that I might not even find. It's like… trying to capture lightening in a bottle. It's never going to happen again."

She turned away from him. His hand fell limply off her shoulder.

"Don't let them win," he called out somberly as he watched her leave the tattered tent.

She grew still for a moment, "They already have," she whispered.


	42. Something Wicked This Way Comes

Chapter Forty-One:

The carriage wasn't the best nor preferred option of transportation of Elphaba but it was the only one that allowed her to bring the bodies of Glinda and Fiyero with her back to Kiamo Ko.

As she looked around the place that she had called home to a little over a year now bittersweet memories filled her mind. She found her eyes to be misty all of a sudden. She glanced back at the rear of the carriage; pulled back the blankets she had thrown over the two bodies and kissed both of their foreheads gently.

"Welcome home," she whispered. It was slightly morbid, yes she did agree with that, but she hadn't known what to do. She couldn't have just left them there, all alone. At least this way, she could give them both a proper burial.

With a wave of her hand she burst the doors open and strolled through them, frightening the staff to pieces. Elphaba herself had set the monkeys that had been captive at the circus free and they had followed her to Kiamo Ko. They settled in packs on the rooftops. Surely by now even this part of Oz had heard the news that Elphaba was a witch, the notorious Wicked Witch of The West they had named her. Elphaba had accepted that as her role in life and was using her 'reputation' for wickedness and as a murderer to her advantage.

"Leave," she hissed at the staff that stood there cowering before her, "or you die."

There was almost a stampede-like way that the staff booked it out of the castle, they nearly trampled each other.

Once they were all gone, Elphaba brought in the bodies one by one and laid them down in their bed next to each other. The storm that was raging on outside prevented her from burying them tonight, for the ground was wet and slick with mud. But she was rather glad she had one last night to be with them.

She gazed at them while she sat on the edge of the bed, crying and silently gasping. They looked so peaceful, it hurt. Elphaba vividly remembered their deaths and she figured that she probably always would. It plagued her like a mental illness, never ceasing to appear, something that she could not get rid of no matter how much she wanted to. Their deaths tormented her, broke what was left of her sanity and human compassion string by string.

"Please come back," she sobbed. "I'd fight if I had something, someone, somebody to fight for." Her tears fell and some made a tinkling sound against the glass skin of Glinda while some disappeared into the hay of Fiyero.

"I love you both so much," her voice was starting to sound hoarse and ugly from all of this crying, "Please, I can't do this without you."

It was true. Elphaba had lost both of her anchors in a matter of speaking. Now she was just left to float. And she had two choices: to either sink or swim.

And like any noble captain, Elphaba was going to go down with her ship.

The night wore on slowly for Elphaba. She couldn't get to sleep. With Glinda and Fiyero dead, she knew that this assassin, this Dorothy child would be at her doorstep any minute and she needed a plan for when she came. She briefly thought of burying herself alongside Glinda and Fiyero in the mountains but that would be giving into what the Wizard and Morrible wanted and she couldn't have that. They may have taken Glinda and Fiyero from her but they couldn't take away her resistance to their cause.

Though, the Witch admitted, it was hard to keep on fighting. The night turned into day and Elphaba found herself longing to crawl into bed and sleep away the rest of her days. Her eyes held no more tears left to cry, her heart was as cold as ice. She wasn't herself, but she had to carry on.

The monkeys which had came at her call were of great use to her. She used them, sending them out in all different directions to look for the girl. She anxiously waited in the castle for news.

Kiamo Ko was quiet with the staff gone, and Elphaba was glad of that. She used the peace and solitude to find the time to bury Glinda and Fiyero. She dug their graves herself, not wanting to use magic. With her hands lathered with dirt, her hair a mess, she gave them a one woman funeral by herself, quiet and somber.

Her heart ached as she walked away from the pitiful graves, the only markings were the pile of poppies she had laid on each of them. She was anger at the Wizard and Morrible for taking them away from her, for manipulating her against her will.

She would fight, oh yes, and either she would win, or she would die trying.

When she returned to Kiamo Ko, she found Chistery at her window screeching and hollering at her, waving at the front door.

"What? What?" she snapped, "What are you bothering me with?"

Just then, a round of knocks sounded from the door and Elphaba heard a tiny voice speak out something.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

The voice was sickly sweet, like honey dripping from a tree branch. The Witch's skin instantly crawled when she heard it.

It was Dorothy, her assassin, the savior of Oz come to kill the Wicked Witch at last.  
Mingled with her feelings of grief, her annoyance was shown when she scolded Chistery for not warning her sooner.

"Why did you wait till the last minute to tell me, you blithering idiot?! You could have told me when I was out. You have wings, you can fly! Doesn't the girl have any common courtesy? She should have been announced weeks beforehand!"

She flew around the room, trying to think of a plan and trying to clean herself up from burying Glinda and Fiyero.

The knocks came persistently, and Elphaba knew that she could only leave the girl hanging for a short time before she left the castle's gates. Throwing her hair into a bun, concealing it with her hat, she donned on Glinda's old Witch costume, having nothing else to wear. Though she gathered the outfit was quite appropriate for the situation, given the circumstances.

She bolted down the stairs once she was finished, with her monkeys behind her at every step.

She opened the door to see a gingham dress and pigtails surround a pretty girl's face.


	43. Time

Chapter Forty-Two:

Everything about this Dorothy child screamed innocence. From the rich chocolate color of her eyes, to her simple braids and demeanor, she was the symbol of purity.

Elphaba thought she was going to be sick.

As someone who had been so scarred by bitterness and betrayal the green woman felt like this Dorothy child was a demon come to drag her to the Great Beyond.

"So you're the assassin," Elphaba greeted coldly, "Well, you should know dear that I have ways too of getting rid of things that aren't wanted, including you." Her hand rested on Chistery's head, the monkey had come stumbling behind her, and she stared down at the child, looking rather menacing in her Witch outfit.

Dorothy's face paled considerably and the girl's bottom lip trembled.

"I'm no assassin," she said slowly, "I don't know what you're talking about..." she chewed on her lip, "I was sent here by the Wizard."

"You were sent her to kill me, don't lie," snapped Elphaba, "Your little innocent act isn't fooling me."

The girl looked as though she was going to cry, her eyes welled up with unshed tears.

"Please don't say such things. I'm so very confused. The Wizard told me to come here," she wrung her hands together in front of her stomach, "But I'm not sure why it had to be me. What he told me to say to you doesn't even make sense."

Elphaba snarled, "I have no time for your games. Let's just get this over with." She then began to mutter a spell under her breath, ready to make this Dorothy girl disappear once and for all.

"Wait!" the girl cried out, probably trying to bide her time but what she said struck a cord within Elphaba, "He told me to tell you that if you kill me or try to harm me that you'll be the exact thing you were fighting against. That you'll really become your own worst enemy."

Her words hit Elphaba like a fierce wind. Everything seemed to come back to her at once. Her life at the Ozling Brothers' Circus, the day she met Fiyero and Glinda, what had happened since then.

It was all connected to her, all of Fiyero and Glinda's misfortunes and unhappiness. None of it would have happened if not for her. If Fiyero hadn't felt compelled to take her away from the circus, maybe they still would be alive. Glinda and Fiyero had taken her in, had loved her, and death was what they got in return.

"...He promises that he'll bring them back if you surrender..." Elphaba was only half listening to what the brunette was blabbering on about.

"What? What did you say?" the Witch asked tensely, leaning a bit forward so that she could hear better.

Dorothy took a breath, obviously annoyed that she had to repeat herself.

"I said that the Wizard told me to offer you an ultimatum, whatever that is. He says that if you come back to the city with me then he promises that he'll bring back them, he didn't say who them was though so I was hoping you could tell me who he was talking about. Anyways, he told me to tell you that if you surrendered that he would bring them back."

Elphaba was quiet for a moment. She seemed to be reflecting, her mind was racing a mile a minute.

Two choices lay before her. One would end with her imminent death, of that she was sure of. But that choice would also give Glinda and Fiyero a second chance, a chance to live the rest of their lives worry free about her.

The other choice seemed like a chore to her. If she refused the offer, it would continue this vicious cycle of her running from them. Elphaba was tired now. She was tired of fighting, of being everybody's burden, everyone's enemy.

Life had worn her down to almost nothing, and this offer was her key to whatever was there for her after death.

Her conscience weighed on whether or not it would be cowardly for her to surrender, if her pride would suffer because of it. But her heart didn't mind it one bit.

She was done going through phases, of being a circus freak, then to a house-guest, then a lover to Glinda and Fiyero, and lastly a witch no less, an enemy of Oz.

"Maybe it is time to give up," she mumbled softly under her breath. Chistery made some noise of protest but she lightly pushed him away.

She stood up straighter, maybe it was to establish dominance over the girl or maybe it was to show her that she had made up her mind.

"I accept the Wizard's offer," she said at last, "but with one proposition..."

Dorothy looked greatly relieved, a smile even came to her face.

"Oh, how wonderful. I'm so thrilled that no blood has to be shed. I was getting worried there."

"You didn't hear my proposition. I am not going to the city with you. I'm not going to walk right into my death. If the Wizard wants me dead, then I get to do it on my terms. You can go back to the city and tell the Wizard that."

Dorothy's smile faltered.

"But the deal was that you came with me."

"No," said Elphaba resolutely. "He agrees to my deal or not at all. I will not be his pawn."

She then snapped her fingers and muttered a spell, sending the girl back to the city without further explanation.

The poor girl was probably so confused and Elphaba felt a tiny pang of pity at putting her in the middle of all of this. But if the Wizard sent her to come kill her then she most not be as dumb nor naïve as she looked.

While Dorothy was gone, Elphaba ran upstairs to get her spell book. Her mind was racing at the prospect of Glinda and Fiyero being alive again. But she wondered how the Wizard was going to do it. She knew that he had no real power, and that Morrible was pulling his every string behind the scenes. And they didn't have the Grimmerie, so how could it possibly be done?

If Elphaba herself couldn't find a spell to bring them back, how could Morrible?

Suddenly Elphaba felt as though she had made a grave mistake. Her stomach twisted as she peered through the book once more. She had to be ready in case the Wizard sent more than just Dorothy back to the castle.

Truth be told, she was ready to surrender, to resign to death but she didn't fully trust this plan.

She glanced at the hourglass that stood in the corner of her room. The sand fell slowly through the glass. She knew there wasn't a lot of time left before the girl returned.

For a brief moment she thought about running. She could make it now if she really tried. She didn't know where she would run to, but at least it wouldn't here. But then she decided against it.

She wasn't a coward. Running wasn't her thing, unless it was running away to protect someone else and she had just about lost everyone by now so the only person left to protect was herself. And she didn't feel like being her own hero, not this time. That complex had long worn its effects off in her mind.

In life, there are no heroes. Only people who do less evil things than people who do more evil things.

She was straddling the line, way too close for comfort.

Her time was up.


	44. A Life Now Lost

Chapter Forty-three:

She waited for the girl to come back with an army behind her. Maybe the Wizard would be among them, maybe even Morrible would come. Elphaba expected the entire land to back up the child in this fight.

As she sat there at her desk, waiting, she felt a bout of nervousness. She glanced at the fire that was burning in the fireplace as if it would give her clues as to what was to come. But it told her nothing.

The Grimmerie was no help either. Elphaba was at a loss at how the Wizard would be able to manage bringing back Glinda and Fiyero if she herself couldn't.

She regretted not telling the girl that she wanted to see Glinda and Fiyero alive before she died. That way she could know for sure if the Wizard was promising her false hope or not.

She had a feeling now that that's exactly what was going on. But she couldn't go back and change what she had said.

All she could do now was wait, wait for the girl to come back.

About two hours later, the girl reappeared, obviously by magic, in her tower. Elphaba could hear her quiet sobs as she stood outside her door.

"Well, are you just going to stand there?" barked Elphaba at the girl, "Come in and tell me what the Wizard said."

The door creaked open slowly, and Elphaba held her breath, waiting for an army to attack her.

But only the girl came through the door, looking horribly upset and terrified out of her wits.

Her hands shook as she closed the door behind her, and her brown eyes shimmered with tears.

"Well, go on girl!"

Dorothy looked up at her, "The Wizard... The Wizard said no to your proposition," she stuttered out.

"Damn," cursed the Witch under her breath. But in truth, she knew that he wouldn't have said yes. He always had to hold the strings over everyone.

"So, he said that I have to take you to the Emerald City," cried the girl, stuttering through her tears, "But I don't want to do that... I... I just want to go home!"

Elphaba honestly paid her no mind as she sobbed, Chistery made an attempt to go over and comfort her but the Witch snatched him by the paw and forced him to stand next to her.

She sat there, trying to think of a way out of this, while the little girl stood there crying.

But to Elphaba, the room was silent and filled with the haunting memories of her past.

She couldn't get the hope of having Glinda and Fiyero alive once more out of her mind. She had caused them so much pain, so much grief and strife, it was only right that she perished for their sakes.

"I promise I'll make this right," she whispered to herself but Dorothy, her crying had ceased then, had heard her.

"What? What did you say?" the girl asked in between heavy breaths.

The Witch waved her off and got up from her chair, circling around the room in thought.

She paced while the girl and Chistery watched nervously.

"Maybe I could just kill the Wizard and force Morrible to bring them back, and then I'll just disappear... yes, yes that would do. That way I'd be rid of the Wizard forever and of Morrible if the need be..." she whispered to herself.

"Then Glinda and Fiyero could live in peace, without me... it would be better for all of us that way."

She kept muttering to herself, sometimes articulating her phrases, sometimes not. Dorothy and Chistery only got bits and pieces of what she was saying but it was enough to make them alarmed.

"I'm supposed to take you to the Emerald City now," the girl interrupted her, "The longer we wait, the angrier the Wizard will get at me. And he promised me that he'd send me home if I took you back... so please can we just go?" pleaded Dorothy.

The Witch whirled around at her, suddenly furious.

"You really think that the Wizard will keep his promise to you?" she laughed, half madly at the girl, "You really believe that he'll send you back to wherever you come from?" She sneered at the girl.

"You'll be lucky if you get out of Oz alive. He may just have your head," stated Elphaba quite maliciously.

Dorothy gripped her neck with her hands.

"But why would he do that? I'm only doing what he told me to do!"

She looked as though she was about to faint.

Elphaba grabbed the girl's face with her hands tightly.

"Don't you see? Don't you see that he never keeps his promises? He promised me that Glinda and Fiyero would never be hurt and look at what happened to them!" she screeched.

"What-what happened to them?" stammered Dorothy, wringing her hands together, not knowing what Elphaba was talking about in the slightest.

"He killed them, he killed both of them, even when he promised he won't! Don't you think for a second that either of us will make it out of here alive!"

Dorothy started sobbing once more, unable to control her emotions.

Elphaba, disgusted and with her mind racing, circled the room once more, rummaging through various books.

"I could just kill the girl and fend for myself... if the Wizard thinks he can bring Glinda and Fiyero back then surely so can I if I try..."

Her skirts flew around the space like leaves in the breeze, Elphaba wasn't even paying any attention to where she was walking.

It wasn't until the girl cried out that she noticed the smoke coming from her skirts and the bright orange sparks emitting from it.

She yelled and tried to stamp it out but it only grew larger as it engulfed more and more of her skirt.

Her head turned to find the girl armed with a bucket of water, the spare bucket she had for the purpose of putting out the fire.

She didn't have the chance to scream at the girl not to before the liquid was poured all over her body.

It was all over in an instant.


End file.
